Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 6 Hurt in Brawl at Honor Rancho

Sheriff’s deputies used “sting-ball” grenades to break up a brawl involving about 90 inmates at a county jail Tuesday, authorities said. Six inmates were treated for minor wounds.

The fight started about 11:55 a.m. when several inmates at the Pitchess Honor Rancho began fighting with fists, Deputy Rich Erickson said. They then grabbed broomsticks and began swinging them, he said.

Deputies used two sting-ball grenades to stop the fight in about five minutes, Erickson said. The grenades spray rubber pellets, which cause pain but usually not serious injury.

Cause of the fight was under investigation, he said.

For several years, the jail has been the scene of scores of battles between Latino and African American inmates, in which dozens of inmates have been injured.