SAUGUS : 45 Jail Inmates in Brawl; 2 Wind Up in Hospital

A brawl Tuesday between 45 African-American and Hispanic inmates at the North County Correctional Facility in Saugus left two prisoners hospitalized and one with minor injuries, a sheriff’s official said.

Two inmates were stabbed in the back and abdomen with at least one “jail-made shank” in a dormitory, sheriff’s spokeswoman Irma Becerra said. The pair, who were not identified, were reported in stable condition at an area hospital following the 12:45 a.m. fight, which lasted about three minutes. The third victim was treated at the jail for minor stab wounds to his back, Becerra said.