Violence Erupts at Nevada’s Ely State Prison: Three Dead, Nine Injured

A violent brawl erupted at Nevada's Ely State Prison, resulting in three inmate deaths and nine hospitalizations. The gang-related incident did not injure corrections officers. The facility, housing 1,183 inmates and Nevada's death row, remains on lockdown with visitations canceled indefinitely due to safety concerns.

A Nevada maximum-security prison is on lockdown following a deadly brawl that left three inmates dead and nine others hospitalized, officials revealed Wednesday. Governor Joe Lombardo's office identified the incident at Ely State Prison as gang-related, according to Fox channel KVVU-TV in Las Vegas.

The violent confrontation occurred Tuesday afternoon at the rural mining town prison, 250 miles north of Las Vegas. The state's sole maximum-security facility, which also houses death row, saw no corrections officers harmed during the melee. The cause of the fight remains undisclosed, along with the total number of injured.

ABC affiliate KOLO-TV reported the hospitalized inmates had been stabbed, while the Nevada Department of Corrections declined to provide specific information to Reuters. Visitation across all state prisons is indefinitely suspended amid retaliation fears, CBS affiliate KLAS-TV stated.

With a capacity for 1,183 inmates and over 400 staff positions, Ely State Prison currently holds 60 death row inmates. There have been 21 deaths across Nevada prisons this year, including two at Ely. The facility was also the site of a 2022 hunger strike due to unsafe conditions and inadequate food.

(With inputs from agencies.)