Two inmates died and others were injured after an “operational error” led to gang unrest at the Oklahoma prison

CNN
—

Two inmates are dead and several others are injured after a “group disturbance” at a privately run prison in southern Oklahoma, prison authorities said.

The incident occurred Friday at the Lawton Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility and is being investigated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, according to a statement from Kay Thompson, the department’s public information director.

Thompson said in an email to CNN on Saturday that the incident occurred after an “operator error” allowed “the disruption.” She said the disorder was related to “security threat groups,” which Thompson said is another term for gangs.

For this reason, the facility is closed and all visits are canceled until the weekend.

A spokesman for The GEO Group, a security company that operates prisons and detention centers on behalf of governments, told CNN the deaths and injuries resulted from “an inmate-on-inmate attack.”

Thompson did not name the two patients who died in the statement. In addition to the two deaths, two occupants were seriously injured. One was taken to hospital by ambulance and the other by vehicle. Many others were treated at the facility for minor injuries, but the exact number is unknown, Thompson said. According to GEO Group, an officer also suffered minor injuries.

When asked what was meant by “operational error,” Thompson told CNN, “The cause is still under investigation.” We will release this information once the investigation is complete.”

“Although LCRF is a privately run prison, our operations team is working closely with GEO Group to understand how this happened and what corrective actions need to be taken,” Thompson said.

GEO Group said: “The health and safety of everyone in our care is always our top priority and we do not tolerate acts of violence of any kind.”

Lawton is approximately 86 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The Lawton Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility has been in operation since 1998 and can accommodate 2,682 inmates, according to GEO Group.