SAN FRANCISCO: About 200 inmates rioted yesterday at Folsom State Prison and shots were fired by guards to quell the disturbance.
Correctional officers opened fire as they tried to break up rioting that erupted in the main exercise yard, prison spokesman Luis Patino said.
Seven inmates were hospitalised but officials said it wasn’t clear how many suffered gunshot wounds. None of the inmates suffered life-threatening injuries.
No officers were hurt in the riot which reportedly ended after about 30 minutes.
Patino said he didn’t know what precipitated the violence.
The prison was on lockdown as an investigation was under way.
It was made famous in the Johnny Cash song Folsom Prison Blues and has been hit with sporadic violence in its 130-year existence.
Opened in 1880, Folsom State Prison is California’s second oldest prison, primarily housing medium security inmates.
The prison also operates a minimum-security unit and a transitional treatment facility.
The jail’s website said it had a custody staff of 643, with 3540 inmates in custody, and located about 32km east of Sacramento.
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