INMATES TAKE OVER PRISON LEAVING ONE DEAD, SEVERAL WOMEN EMPLOYEES STRIPPED NAKED, & OTHERS INJURED

As many as 300 inmates, some of them armed with makeshift weapons such as broomsticks, rioted at a privately run Mississippi prison for illegal immigrants, beating a guard to death and injuring 19 people, a sheriff said Monday. More than two dozen officers were held hostage at some point during the hours-long spate of violence Sunday, including a group of 15 who had to be rescued by special response teams, Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said. A gang fight set off the violence, the sheriff said.


The guard was killed on the roof of one of the prison buildings. Sixteen prison employees were treated for various injuries and released from a hospital. Three inmates were hurt, officials said. During the riot an inmate called into WBLT and stated a different reason for the riot happening:

"They beat us; we’re just [paying] them back. We just need better treatment and services.

We need medical attention. We just want some respect. They call us wetbacks.” The inmates also made some of the women employees that were held hostage strip completely naked. A fire was reportedly also seen inside the prison.