CASTAIC : 500 Inmates Involved in 4 Brawls at County Jail
More than 500 inmates battled each other for several hours in four separate brawls at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho near Castaic late Wednesday and early Thursday, but the fighting caused no serious injuries, authorities said.
The violence, which broke out between Latino and African American prisoners at the jail, is the latest in a series of brawls between the two groups.
A sheriff’s spokesman said it was unclear what led to the disturbances, but in the past authorities have blamed the fights on a power struggle between African American and Latino inmates.
Early Thursday, when inmates battled with broomsticks and razors and were stopped by sheriff’s deputies spraying rubber bullets, 17 prisoners suffered minor cuts and bruises, spokesman Gabe Ramirez said.
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