Photo: YURI CORTEZ / AFP / Getty Images
BEAUMONT – The federal prison system has been placed in national isolation
this Monday after two prisoners were killed and two others were injured during a fight between gangs in a federal penitentiary in Texas.
The violent incident occurred this Monday around 13: 34 am at the facilities of the USP Beaumont Jail, a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas.
The altercation involved members of the gang MS-13, according to authorities.
The attack is the latest example of violence occurring in federal prisons.
The agency has struggled to control outbreaks of violence in its jails over the years recent. Other problems include employee misconduct, prisoner escapes, staff shortages, and deaths.
Isolation affects more than 120 prisons federal agencies around the United States.
During solitary confinement prisoners remain in their cells for most of the day and visitors are not allowed.
Authorities reported that security officers observed several prisoners during this Monday incident fighting and before securing the area two of the prisoners involved were seriously injured and died at the scene. The victims were identified as Andrew Piñeda, aged 34, and Guillermo Rojas, aged 54 years.