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Riot breaks out at a US prison

22 August 2009 11:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Hundreds of inmates were tear-gassed in an attempt to regain control of a Kentucky facility after a riot broke out Friday evening, a spokeswoman said.

Inmates at the medium-security Northpoint Training Center in Burgin set fires, shattered windows and destroyed other prison property in the midst of an uprising that began shortly after the warden announced he’d ease restrictions on a lockdown, Northpoint Public Information Officer Mendalyn Cochran told CNN.

A medical building, kitchen and other buildings were damaged in the fires, according to a news release from the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet. Flames and smoke could be seen from miles away, and they continued to burn early Saturday, AP reported.
Northpoint houses more than 1,100 general population inmates in six open-bay dormitories, according to its Web site. Another 60 special-management inmates are housed in single cells in a separate structure, and 40 minimum-security inmates are in another separate building.
The prison opened in 1983 and has a staff of 285.
A prison spokeswoman said earlier Friday that the prison had been on lockdown since Tuesday, when one group of inmates assaulted two others, The Advocate-Messenger of Danville reported.
Mendolyn Cochran said inmates set fires in trash cans in one building, then when they were called to the yard, they continued to set fires and destroy prison property, the newspaper reported.
Jude said he was unable to confirm that information, and said he didn’t know if some inmates may have planned the riot.