Inmate Shot, Dozens Injured in Folsom Riot

SACRAMENTO — A race-related riot involving more than 100 inmates at Folsom State Prison on Thursday left two convicts with serious wounds -- one inflicted by a guard’s gunshot -- and dozens with minor injuries.

It was the first time in almost two years that an inmate has been shot in a California prison. No staff members were injured in the riot, described as the worst in a decade at the medium-security prison housing about 3,600 inmates east of Sacramento.

Corrections officials ordered the prison placed on lockdown status, meaning all inmates must remain in their cells, losing most privileges, until an investigation is completed. The riot involved blacks and Latinos and began shortly before 7 a.m. in a housing unit. Guards quickly contained that brawl by firing rubber bullets, one of which struck an inmate just below an eye, said a prison spokesman.

About 20 minutes later, more than 100 inmates in the dining hall began fighting. When pepper spray and rubber bulletsfailed to quell the riot, a correctional officer fired a single shot from a high-powered rifle, striking an inmate in the hip area, corrections officials said. At that point, the rioting, which lasted more than five minutes, stopped.