Riot, hostage situation end at Texas prison

updated 11:58 a.m. ET Dec. 13, 2008

PECOS, Texas - An uprising at a private prison in West Texas has ended after two hostages were released, Texas authorities said on Saturday.

Teams of law enforcement officers were able to gain control of the Reeves County Detention Center, returning the facility to prison personnel, said Patricia Dieschler, dispatcher for the State Department of Public Safety.

Dieschler said no law enforcement personnel were injured early Saturday. The center's warden declined to comment.

Inmates, who include immigration detainees, took two hostages after starting a riot and setting at least one fire Friday, authorities said. Inmates were asking for better medical treatment, Texas Trooper John Barton told the Pecos Enterprise.

The two prison employees taken hostage were recreation specialists. A hostage negotiator was called in to take to inmates, Reeves County sheriff's spokesman Michael Estorga said in the online edition of the Odessa American.

Fire crews and additional law enforcement were called to the sprawling prison complex after a fire broke out in one of its buildings.

The GEO Group, based in Boca Raton, Fla., has operated the lock up through contracts with Reeves County and the Federal Bureau of Prisons since 2003. The prison holds more than 2,400 inmates.

More from msnbc.com In slump-hit areas, suicide rates on the rise Brokaw:  The night the wall came down Germany still coping with ‘wall in the mind’ Is the swine flu shot as safe as regular vaccine? Signs of the sacrifices of military life On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

NYT: Fort Hood suspect tracked before shooting AP: Man admits killing abortion doctor Supreme Court won't stop sniper execution   Source: Hasan reached out to imam   Recession’s good news: Burglaries fall   High court looks at life in prison for juveniles Inquiry in Ohio bodies case widens worldwide 3 Fla. teens charged as adults in fire attack Kansas town still grieves ‘In Cold Blood’ deaths More than 20 dead animals found at home Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: