10 Hospitalized After New Folsom Prison Riot
REPRESA (CBS13) – At least two inmates were shot and 10 have been hospitalized after a riot broke out early Wednesday afternoon at the California State Prison, Sacramento, forcing correctional officers to open fire to subdue the melee, authorities said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said about 50 inmates began rioting in the maximum security yard at the maximum-security facility, commonly know as New Folsom Prison, shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Responding officers used pepper spray and non-lethal projectiles as well as their firearms, CDCR officials said.
"There were guys being brought off the yard left and right" with injuries after the fight in an exercise yard, prison Sgt. Tony Quinn said. "There's always tension inside here. It could be for a number of reasons. It could be debts. It could be gangs."
An unknown number of officers apparently suffered minor injuries during the fracas.
Injured inmates were rushed to local hospitals for treatment for stab wounds, gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma, authorities said. The identities of the hospitalized inmates and their conditions have not been released.
The prison has been locked down in the wake of the riot, which was contained by 1:20 p.m., authorities said. Most of the prison's 2,800 inmates were locked in their cells during the riot.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)