Arizona prison on lockdown after racially divided fight

A privately operated state prison in the northwest Arizona community of Golden Valley is under lockdown Sunday following a racially divided fight among some 100 inmates Saturday.

Warden Jeffrey Wrigley said no weapons were used when about 50 Caucasian inmates brawled with another 50 Hispanic inmates at the Arizona State Prison Complex near Kingman.

Wrigley said about 10 inmates sustained minor injuries in the 8:30 a.m. brawl in one of the three recreation yards of the Huachuca unit of the prison that houses convicted sex offenders. He said injuries mostly involved cuts and lacerations and that no staff members were hurt.

Wrigley said about five inmates were treated at the prison. Another five were treated at Kingman Regional Medical Center where only one was admitted.

Wrigley credited staff with shutting down the melee and restoring order within three minutes. He said no criminal damage occurred at the facility and that the incident was nothing like the early July 2015 riots that caused more than $2 million in damage.

Wrigley said weekend visitation was curtailed and that the lockdown will extend into the week. He said special investigators from the Arizona Department of Corrections were dispatched to the prison to review the incident.