Two hundred inmates at a California prison were involved in a “large-scale riot” Wednesday and dozens were injured, officials said.
The fight in the yard at a prison in Soledad broke out just after 11 a.m., and staff fired nine warning shots from a rifle and used chemical agents and non-lethal rounds to break up the brief incident, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
No one on staff at the Correctional Training Facility was hurt, the department said.
Eight inmates required outside hospitalization with injuries that included cuts, puncture wounds and bruises, and all were stable. About 50 other inmates were treated for minor injuries, the department said.
Officials said that four “inmate-manufactured weapons” were found, and the cause of the riot is being investigated. A deadly force review board will conduct a review of the incident, the department said.
The Correctional Training Facility provides houses around 5,400 minimum- and medium-custody inmates, according to the department. It was opened in 1946 and covers 680 acres with three facilities on the grounds.
The riot was “very similar” in size to a previous riot at the same prison in October, department spokesman Lt. Carlos Espinoza told the Associated Press.
Soledad is a city of around 25,700 about 70 miles south of San Jose.