Deadly Brawl Sparks Lockdown at Nevada Maximum-Security Prison

A brawl at Nevada's Ely State Prison resulted in three inmate deaths and nine hospitalizations. The fight, suspected to be gang-related, led to a lockdown of the facility, which houses the state's death row inmates. Retaliation fears heightened as the prison canceled visitations indefinitely.

A Nevada maximum-security prison went into lockdown following a deadly brawl that claimed the lives of three inmates and left nine others hospitalized, according to officials.

Governor Joe Lombardo’s office reported that the Tuesday altercation at Ely State Prison, located 250 miles north of Las Vegas, was gang-related. The facility, which is Nevada's only maximum-security prison, also houses the state's death row inmates.

No corrections officers were injured during the fight, and officials have not disclosed the cause of the altercation. The nine hospitalized inmates suffered stab wounds, according to ABC affiliate KOLO-TV. The prison's lockdown status as of Wednesday remained unclear, but visitations across all state prisons have been canceled indefinitely.

Officials express concern over potential retaliation, as reported by CBS affiliate KLAS-TV. Ely State Prison can accommodate 1,183 inmates and employs over 400 staff. The facility currently houses 60 death row inmates, per the Death Penalty Information Center. This year, the state's prisons have recorded 21 fatalities, including two at Ely, where an inmate hunger strike in 2022 protested unsafe conditions and inadequate food.