Federal prisons across the United States have been placed in lockdown after two inmates died in a fight in a Texas penitentiary.
The US Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a statement that the measure had been introduced out of an 'abundance of caution', was expected to be 'short-lived' and was in place 'as a temporary measure to ensure the good order of our institutions'.
Several inmates were reported to have been involved in the fight, which broke out at US Penitentiary Beaumont in Texas on Monday morning. Four inmates were hospitalised following the fight, with two later confirmed to have died.
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According to NBC News the inmates were identified as Guillermo Riojas, 54, who was serving a 38-year sentence on carjacking an weapons charges, and Andrew Pineda, 34, who was sentenced for corruption as part of a major operation against a Mexican Mafia prison gang and was serving a six-year prison term.
Riojas had been incarcerated in Beaumont since 2013, with Pineda having arrived at the prison less than a year ago. Both men were tried in the state of California before being taken to serve their sentences in Texas.
A spokesperson for the prison in Texas released a statement confirming that no other inmates or prison staff had been injured, and that 'at no time was the public in danger', per CNN.
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Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Emery Nelson said that the federal prison system was being 'vigilant' against any possible risk of further violence, saying that 'the BOP will continue to monitor events carefully and will adjust its operations accordingly as the situation evolves'.
'For safety and security reasons, the BOP does not elaborate on specific security procedures,' he said.
Nelson did not confirm the circumstances of the fight or why it broke out.
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The US federal prison system comprise 120 separate facilities. The Penitentiary Beaumont is a high security prison housing over 1,300 male inmates and has been the subject of numerous controversies over the years, with AP reporting in June last year that local law enforcement officials joked that it had an 'open door policy' following a number of escapes from the facility.
A prison lockdown involves prisoners being confined to their individual cells, with no outside visitors allowed in. Nationwide lockdowns, though rare, have also previously been implemented recently as precautions following political events, including the January 6 Capitol riot and the inauguration of President Biden later that month, as well as the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020.
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Hannah Smith