58 inmates injured in riot at California prison; eight hospitalized
SALINAS, Calif. – A riot at a California prison sent eight inmates to local hospitals Wednesday, officials say.
Fifty more inmates suffered minor injuries.
Around 200 inmates began fighting just after 11 a.m. in the Facility C recreation yard at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, east of Monterey, according to Ike Dodson, public information officer for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The agency manages the prison system.
Guards ordered the rioters to stop, then fired tear gas, nonlethal weapons and nine rifle rounds to try to end the fighting. One group of inmates stopped, but a second group continued for about 12 minutes, Dodson said.
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Eight inmates were taken to local hospitals to be treated for stab wounds, cuts and bruises and other injuries.
Dodson said their conditions are not life threatening.
Approximately 50 more reported minor injuries that are being treated on-site by medical staff.
No staff members were injured in the riot, Dodson said.
Four inmate-made weapons were found and the prison’s Investigative Services Unit is investigating what caused the riot, Dodson said. A deadly force review board will also review the incident.
Movement at Facility C, a medium-custody general population facility, has been limited as a result of the ongoing investigation, Dodson said.
The prison had more than 5,400 inmates as of Aug. 7, according to CDCR figures.
Less than three weeks ago, an inmate stabbed a guard at CTF.
On July 26, Michael Ellison, 36, stabbed a correctional officer multiple times in the face and body with an inmate-made weapon, Lt. Carlos Espinoza said.
Officers used physical force and pepper spray to stop Ellison. The officer was expected to make a full recovery.
In February, CTF also saw protests after activists alleged guards there staged fights between inmates to justify lockdowns, which prison staff flatly denied.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: California prison riot: 58 inmates injured at Soledad facility
