Inmate Shot in Racial Fight at Prison

One prisoner was shot and several guards were injured Wednesday in fighting between black and white inmates at the Susanville prison, state Department of Corrections officials reported.

The fight followed several days of racial tension at the medium-security facility, which houses almost 3,900 inmates. It is located about eight miles east of this northeastern California city.

Wednesday’s fight began when a group of white inmates attacked blacks in the prison yard, according to Shel Merchant, community resources manager for the facility. A guard fired a warning shot, but the whites continued to advance and guards then fired additional shots, Merchant said.

An inmate who was not identified was wounded in the abdomen and taken to Lassen Community Hospital, then transferred to the Washoe Medical Center in Reno for surgery.

After the fight in the yard, guards found three prison-made weapons, a knife and two clubs, the prison spokesman said.

Merchant said inmates were then ordered back to their dormitories, where more fights broke out. Several guards suffered scratches and other minor injuries during those scuffles, Merchant said.