Five Killed in Montana Prison Uprising

Five inmates were killed in a state prison disturbance Sunday, apparently by other inmates, a prison official said. Five guards taken hostage were freed unharmed when a tactical unit stormed the maximum-security cellblock.

Prison Warden Jack McCormick, who confirmed the casualty toll, said it had not been determined how the prisoners died, but that no weapons were found in the cellblock. He said inmates were seen and heard beating other inmates.

“It’s clear to us that these inmates were dead when we entered the building. They must have been killed by other inmates in the prison,” said Curt Chisholm, the state’s corrections director.

Eight other inmates were injured.

The warden said the dead inmates and four of the injured had been in protective custody because they had informed on other prisoners or had been threatened by other inmates.

The Montana State Prison cellblock was damaged by prisoners, with extensive fire and water damage, the warden said at a news conference.

McCormick said he did not know how or why the disturbance happened.

Members of the tactical unit fired tear gas, but they fired only one gunshot, and it did not strike anyone, the warden said.

McCormick said he decided to storm the cellblock after officers outside the building saw and heard some inmates being beaten.

“The knowledge that lives were in danger . . . is the very reason the assault on the facility took place early this afternoon,” he said.

Gov. Stan Stephens, who visited the prison, said: “There’s no question there would have been more injury and more loss of life if they hadn’t moved when they did.”

The warden said the 55 inmates left in the cellblock would have to be moved elsewhere temporarily. Those in the cellblock included Montana’s six Death Row prisoners.

The rescue came about four hours after inmates took over the maximum-security unit at the state’s only men’s prison, about 80 miles west of Helena, Mont.

The unit had seven guards, but two in a control booth escaped. It was also not immediately known how the prisoners overpowered the guards.

The cellblock is in a building separate from the main prison. The rest of the prison was locked down, Stephens said.

The prison housed 1,178 inmates as of Sept. 17. It was designed to house 750, but officials say its “emergency” capacity is 1,135.