Three inmates were killed and five injured when rioting broke out on Saturday at Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, the New York Times reports. “The disturbance was inmate-on-inmate,” a spokesman said. “No lethal force was used by staff.”
Cimarron is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. A spokesman for the private company, Steve Owen, told the Times that prison guards “quelled an inmate disturbance” just after 4:30 pm on Saturday. No prison staff were injured.
This is the second such disturbance at Cimarron in recent months. The prison was locked down for several weeks after 11 inmates were sent to the hospital following a fight in June, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Alex Gerszewski said.
“It was an altercation between inmates at that facility,” Gerszewski said. “It is currently under investigation.” According to NBC News, between 200 and 300 inmates were involved in the altercation.
Cimarron is still on lockdown after Saturday’s deadly brawl, KOCO reports. Officials said that one guard, who was inside the housing pod where the fight took place, is getting counseling.
Image via KOCO. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.