1 inmate dead, 15 injured in Texas prison riot

FBI: Unknown how man died during violence at medium-security facility

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updated 1:40 p.m. ET March 28, 2008

THREE RIVERS, Texas - One inmate was killed and 15 were hospitalized after a riot at a federal prison in South Texas early Friday.

How the inmate died was still being investigated, said Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Deborah Denham. She did not believe that guards used any potentially lethal force to break up the fight.

No staff members were injured. Seven inmates were treated at the prison for minor injuries.

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A pair of fights broke out in two housing units at the prison around 7 a.m., when breakfast was wrapping up and guards on the day shift were coming on duty. What sparked the fights and how many inmates were involved is still under investigation, Denham said.

Denham said the incident was brought under control quickly, and the community was never in danger.

An autopsy will be performed on the inmate who died, Denham said. His identity was not immediately released because authorities were notifying his family.

The medium-security facility in Three Rivers, located in a rural area 70 miles southeast of San Antonio, has about 1,160 inmates.

The riot was the second at a federal prison in Texas this month. Houston police and firefighters were called to the federal prison in downtown Houston two weeks ago after receiving reports that up to 80 inmates were fighting. A stun grenade was used to stop that brawl.