LANCASTER : 16 Inmates Hurt in Jail Brawl
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Sixteen inmates were injured when a fight between 40 African-Americans and Latinos swelled to 110 prisoners at a Lancaster medium-security jail, sheriff’s deputies said.
The melee at the Mira Loma Facility began about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night and involved inmates from four of the jail’s seven barracks, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Gabe Ramirez. The jail houses 650 prisoners.
The fight began with inmates from two barracks, but inmates from two other barracks quickly joined the fight, Ramirez said. The fight, which was outside the barracks and lasted about 10 minutes, ended when deputies fired two sting-ball grenades, sending inmates running back to their barracks. A sting-ball grenade fires rubber balls upon impact.
Fifteen African-American inmates and one Anglo inmate were injured. Three were seriously hurt; one suffering a head injury, another a possible fractured arm and the third a cut to his back. Five of the injured were treated at local hospitals and the others were treated at a clinic at the facility.
Ramirez said deputies recovered pieces of a wooden plank, apparently used as weapons.
The cause of the fight was under investigation.
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