A man serving a 40-year sentence for his role in an international child pornography ring has died following a fight at a federal detention center in Michigan, authorities said Friday.

Christian Maire, 40, of New York, was pronounced dead following an altercation involving seven inmates Tuesday at the Milan detention center about 50 miles southwest of Detroit, a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

“It’s a horrible tragedy and it seems something like this should have been able to be avoided,” Maire’s lawyer Mark Kriger told the Detroit News on Friday.

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Three of the other inmates involved were treated for serious injuries and two prison staff members had minor injuries, the statement said.

Details of how Maire was injured weren't immediately released, but the death was being investigated as an apparent homicide.

Meanwhile, one source familiar with the investigation told the Detroit News that at least one attacker was armed with a shiv or homemade knife.

The prison was placed on "limited operational status" with visiting suspended.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.