12 Inmates Hurt in Brawl at Pitchess

Twelve prisoners were injured Saturday during an interracial brawl pitting black inmates against Latino and white inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center, sheriff’s officials said.

Five inmates were taken to the jail ward of County-USC Medical Center, but no serious injuries were reported, officials said.

More than 120 inmates were involved in the brawl, which broke out at 1 p.m. and was quelled minutes later by deputies firing nonlethal weapons, said Deputy Michael Irving. Fighting was confined to a dormitory in the jail’s east facility, Irving said.

Irving said the altercation was the result of ongoing racial tension at the jail near Castaic.