New Folsom Prison guards hurt in melee

Three correctional officers and an inmate were injured Thursday at a state prison east of Sacramento in a string of incidents that began with a stabbing and heightened when the guards were jumped by 10 inmates, officials said.

Around 10:15 a.m., two inmates began stabbing a third with a jailmade blade in one of the high-security yards at New Folsom Prison in Represa (Sacramento County), the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

As guards sought to intervene, another inmate stood in their way and refused to move. The officers subdued that prisoner and stopped the attack before the victim was seriously wounded, officials said.

The injured inmate was taken to an outside hospital, officials said, where he was listed in fair condition.

Soon after the stabbing, officials said, a group of four officers went to confront the inmate who had refused to move out of the way. At that point, roughly 10 inmates allegedly attacked the guards.

More guards responded, using pepper spray and firing at least one warning shot before the melee broke up, but not before two of the officers suffered minor injuries — one a strained elbow and the other a strained wrist and forearm, officials said.

Both officers were treated at a hospital and released.

The trouble wasn’t over. As guards led inmates back to their cells, officials said, one prisoner attacked a guard from behind, striking him on the head. That officer was taken to a hospital as a precaution, in case he suffered a concussion.

The investigation into the violence will be forwarded to the Sacramento County district attorney’s office for prosecution, officials said.

Last month at the prison, a 71-year-old inmate, Hugo Pinell, was stabbed to death. Five other inmates were stabbed and numerous others were injured in a riot that broke out just before 1 p.m. on Aug. 12 in a maximum-security yard, authorities said.

Pinell, a convicted rapist and killer serving two life sentences, had once served time in San Quentin State Prison and was part of a notorious 1971 escape attempt that left a founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang dead.