Fighting broke out in a prison yard about 10:45 a.m., said Margot Bach, a state corrections spokeswoman.
It was unclear how long it took to quell the riot but "the entire institution is on full lockdown," Bach said. The prison is in the Mojave Desert about 40 miles north of Los Angeles.
Guards fired several warning shots before using pepper spray, tear gas and wooden bullets on the prisoners, Bach said. She said it was unclear whether any prisoners were hit. No guards or staff were hurt.
Two inmates were stabbed and had collapsed lungs, while two others had serious slash wounds, she said. They were to be taken by helicopter to local hospitals.
Three other inmates were taken by ambulance to hospitals with unspecified injuries.
The prison was designed to hold 2,200 prisoners but currently has more than 4,000 inmates in its minimum- and maximum-security wings. It was not immediately clear whether crowding may have contributed to the rioting and Bach said it may take several days to determine the exact cause.
Last year, a racial brawl involving more than 120 inmates left 10 people injured. In 1999, an inmate was shot by guards during another brawl between whites and Hispanics.
Bach said race didn't appear to be behind Thursday's riot.
"It was multiracial. There wasn't any group attacking any other groups specifically. They all got into it," she said.
"It was multiracial. There wasn't any group attacking any other groups specifically. They all got into it," she said
I for one am warmed by the fact that we have overcome our racist past here in this country to the point that black children and white children can grow up to riot in prison together. Now we have ammunition against the Jackson's and Sharpton's of the world. How dare they say we don't treat people as equals. Perhaps we should interview these prisoners and find out the key to racial harmony and working together constructively to solve problems.
That makes me feel a lot better. < /sarcasm>
No deaths? We pay an average of $30,000 a year for each of these guys to be in prison. Governor Davis and the other politicians in this state have spent all our money for the state budget here so maybe if several of these guys got killed they would not have to raise the taxes so much here in California.
Oh that joyous day in 2002 when I leave California to never return! :-)
Well that is good news! Liberal ooze will no doubt take credit for this tasty nugget! Multi-racial rioting ought to lead to sharing tables where they eat, sharing time on the basketball court....