1 Inmate Killed During Large Brawl At Prison In Central Valley
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — One inmate died and two others were seriously injured in a fight Monday that involved about 40 inmates at a state prison in the San Joaquin Valley, corrections officials said.
A guard fired one bullet to quell the fighting that broke out at about 9:20 a.m. in an exercise yard, said Lt. Floyd Harl, a spokesman at Wasco State Prison.
Three inmates were taken to an outside hospital, and one was pronounced dead at about 10 a.m.
The cause of death has not been determined, Harl said. Details about the inmate were not being released until relatives could be notified.
Harl said it was not immediately known if the guard's bullet caused any of the injuries.
He said he did not know if any weapons made by inmates had been recovered, or if correctional officers used tear gas or other weapons beyond firing a shot to break up the fight.
"We're still collecting all the information," he said. "They're trying to put it together."
No employees were injured.
Harl said he did not know what set off the fighting at the prison, which houses about 5,000 inmates in six housing units. Inmates in the housing unit where the fight occurred were locked in their cells as the investigation continued.
All the inmates involved in the fight were of the same ethnic background, Harl said, and it was not immediately clear if the fight was gang-related.
The prison is located about 260 miles south of the state capital. It generally houses inmates who are just beginning to serve their sentences and evaluates new inmates before they are sent to other prisons to serve their time.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
