Battle Among Prisoners Prompts Lock-Down at Lompoc Prison
A disturbance at the Lompoc Federal Penitentiary involving about 40 inmates left two people hospitalized and the prison on lock-down status Saturday, a spokesman said.
The disturbance began at about 6:40 p.m. Friday when a group of inmates from Washington, D.C., clashed with another group of inmates from the West Coast in the recreation yard, said Paul Ortiz, executive assistant to the warden.
The names and conditions of the two hospitalized inmates were not immediately available, Ortiz said. A third inmate was injured, but did not require hospital treatment, he said.
No guards were injured in the clash, which lasted about 15 minutes, he said. The cause of the disturbance was under investigation.
A lock-down affecting all the prison’s estimated 1,400 inmates was still in effect Saturday, Ortiz said.
“We’re not sure yet if the lock-down will be in effect all weekend,” he said. “But until then, all the inmates will remain, even being fed, in their cells as a precautionary measure.”
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