An altercation between inmates that lasted about two minutes resulted in the death of four prisoners, the company that runs the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, said Sunday.
Four other inmates were hospitalized – and three remain there after the “altercation,” which began just after 4 p.m. Saturday in the medium-security section of the prison.
It took staff about 38 minutes to quell the disturbance and secure the housing area, said Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the facility on behalf of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The facility is on lockdown while the investigation is ongoing, the company said. No staffers were injured, and the names of the dead and injured inmates have not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The 1,720-bed prison was also the site of a brawl involving 200 to 300 inmates earlier this summer, according to the Associated Press. That June incident involved inmates in three separate housing units, and 11 prisoners were hospitalized after the fight.
According to Tulsa World, the prison was the site of a unit-wide fight in March 2013 and a dining hall fight involving 10 inmates in May 2013.
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