12 Injured in Rioting at Overcrowded Jail
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EL CAJON — Black and Latino inmates armed with homemade knives brawled at an overcrowded county jail Thursday, and 12 were injured, three critically, officials said.
Inmates retreated to their cells and order was restored after deputies entered the cellblock armed with electric stun guns.
The brawl, attributed to overcrowding and racial tensions, occurred in a cellblock designed to hold 24 inmates, but which held 100 prisoners at the time, jail Cmdr. Ben McLaughlin said. A similar racially motivated fight at the jail 15 miles east of San Diego left four inmates injured Dec. 13.
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