Both of Utah’s state prisons went on lockdown yesterday after inmates from rivaling gangs went at each other with self-made weapons.
Eight inmates from different gangs started a fight in a dayroom at the Utah State Prison’s maximum security Uinta Facility, located in Draper.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rsl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rsl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Monarchs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Monarchs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RealSaltLake?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RealSaltLake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mls?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mls</a> Utah State Prison on lockdown after apparent gang-related brawl <a href="https://t.co/J7TpVoiDtY">https://t.co/J7TpVoiDtY</a></p>— Real Salt Lake Fans (@RealSaltLakeNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaltLakeNow/status/951534243192156160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The official statement of the prison said: "The fight involved the use of inmate-manufactured weapons, which were recovered by staff following the altercation,"
Luckily no staff members were reported injured as authorities claimed that the brawl got so bad that three inmates had to be taken to hospital afterwards. One of them had to be transported via helicopter, probably due to the seriousness of his injuries.
Due to the ongoing investigation, police refuses at this point to release the names or even gang names of those involved.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3 inmates injured after a brawl at the Utah State Prison. Facility on lockdown. Update on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2newsam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2newsam</a> <a href="https://t.co/1p9p6FHUTQ">https://t.co/1p9p6FHUTQ</a></p>— Ron Bird (@KUTVRon) <a href="https://twitter.com/KUTVRon/status/951456799978237953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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There are some 650 male inmates currently housed at the Uinta Facility.
Given the seriousness of matters and the severe rivalry between these gangs, the authorities at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, the other prison facility managed by the Utah Department of Corrections, also went on lockdown after the fight.
Source:
I was a state corrections officer for 19 years, I do not miss it. I tried to be part of the help, the ones who are part of the problem seem to end up in charge. I wish safety and protection to the staff in Utah. Corrections is 85% boredom and 15% sheer terror.