BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — A guard was killed and, at one point, hostages were taken during a riot at a Mississippi prison that holds illegal immigrants, authorities said.
The Sunday riot at the privately run Adams County Correctional Center in southwest Mississippi began around 2:40 p.m. CDT and involved dozens of inmates before it was brought under control that night.
Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield told the Natchez Democrat that 15 employees were freed at one time during the uprising by opening a fence and protecting the route with guns. The sheriff said in a statement early today that there were at least two dozen hostages being held at one time.
Adams County Coroner James Lee confirmed that a guard died, but said he could not provide any other details until the correctional officer’s family was notified. In addition to the guard who was killed, five other correctional officers and three inmates were injured.
Emilee Beach, a spokeswoman at the Adams County Correctional Center said that after the disturbance was brought under control Sunday night, inmates were being searched and sent back to their cells.
Beach said the prison, owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America, holds illegal immigrants, most for charges of re-entering the United States after being deported.
The five injured guards were taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
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