Guards fire warning shots in inmate riot at Calipatria State Prison

Guards at Calipatria State Prison fired warning shots and foam-tipped rubber bullets after a prison-yard riot broke out involving nearly 300 inmates, corrections officials said Tuesday afternoon.

The fight in the maximum-security area left 13 inmates with injuries described as non-life-threatening and two staff members with heat-related illnesses after the violence erupted in triple-digit heat around 10:15 a.m., according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Guards also fired pepper spray to quash the unrest, which lasted about 10 minutes, and they later recovered several inmate-fashioned weapons used for stabbing, corrections officials said in a statement.

Seven of the injured inmates were taken to an area hospital for treatment. The two staff members were also treated at an outside hospital, officials said. The cause of the riot was under investigation.

Opened in 1992 in Imperial County, the prison holds about 3,800 inmates, about 1,700 of whom are serving life sentences. An additional 594 prisoners at the facility have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, officials said.