The altercation occurred at the penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas around 11:30 a.m. local time on Monday morning. It involved members of the MS-13 street gang, the Associated Press reported.
In response, the federal Bureau of Prisons closed 120 federal prisons nationwide, worried that the killings could inspire retaliatory violence in other prisons.
The lockdown requires inmates to stay in their cells for most of the day with no visitations allowed. However, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most visitations have been stopped anyway.
Monday’s lockdown is the first since the federal bureau locked down prisons in response to the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Federal prisons across the nation have been placed on lockdown after a gang altercation resulted in two deaths. In this photo, a prison guard stands on the outside of a barred cell. Ian Waldie/Getty
