Indiana state authorities regained control of the New Castle Correctional Facility this afternoon after an inmate riot left two staff members injured, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.
Prisoners took control of at least part of the medium-security facility, about 43 miles east of Indianapolis, trashing several buildings and setting fires earlier in the day, Henry County Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Julie Stults said.
Dozens of state police and more than 20 Henry County Sheriff’s deputies and New Castle police officers converged on the jail after reports of a disturbance, said Stults and Indiana State Police spokesman, Sgt. Rodger Popplewell.
The Indiana Department of Correction said police used tear gas, and Stults said no shots were fired.
Fires at the prison were extinguished, she said, adding that she didn’t know how seriously prison staffers were injured.
The New Castle facility currently houses about 1,000 inmates. It is managed by Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO Group, which last month signed a contract with the Indiana Department of Correction to add up to 1,260 inmates to the 2,416-bed jail.
