Leavenworth Inmates Confined to Cells in Wake of Fatal Melee

Inmates were confined to their cells Monday at the U.S. penitentiary here after fighting that had erupted into a deadly melee involving up to 300 prisoners.

One inmate was killed and three others were seriously injured Sunday night as prisoners took over an auditorium and recreation yard. No prison employees were seriously hurt. One inmate remained hospitalized Monday in fair condition.

Overcrowding, racial trouble and gang violence were suggested as possible causes for the violence, but prison spokesman Chuck Strickland said it could be days before the cause is determined.

“The initial report indicated there were two groups involved,” Strickland said. “But as we get further into the interviews we don’t know if that’s the accurate story of what happened. Right now we are not saying it was group related, but that is a possibility.”

The fights reportedly began about 7:30 p.m. Guards were sent in about three hours later and had the prison under control by midnight.

About 150 members of the prison’s Special Operations Response Team used riot batons and tear gas to move inmates out of the areas they had taken over, Strickland said.