Seven inmates injured in fight at Sayre prison
SAYRE — Seven inmates were injured at the North Fork Correctional Center after a fight broke out inside the prison Friday evening.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections officials said the altercation started about 7:30 p.m. Friday when two groups of inmates got into a “verbal confrontation.” One of the groups attacked with “homemade weapons,” leaving seven of the prisoners injured, according to a news release.
Six inmates were taken to an Elk City hospital, and one inmate was flown to an Oklahoma City hospital. The inmates’ conditions were not released.
Prison staff were able to stop the fight shortly after it started and the prison was placed under lockdown. None of the prison’s staff were injured.
“This was a significant incident, and due to the quick actions of our staff the situation was quickly contained,” Corrections Department Director Joe M. Allbaugh said in a news release.
“Our staff members do the best they can when it comes to properly securing our facilities. It’s a difficult task we ask of them, because agency wide we have correctional officer staffing shortages. Our (correctional officer) positions don’t pay enough to be competitive in the job market and with the current budget crisis we are experiencing the situation isn’t going to get any better anytime soon when it comes to filling vacancies.”
The incident is under investigation by the Office of Inspector General, the news release said.
The North Fork Correctional Center is a mediumsecurity prison that houses up to 2,400 inmates and is privately owned by CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, and runs under a contract with the state Corrections Department.