Federal prisons across the United States have been placed on lockdown after a gang altercation resulted in two inmates' deaths.
The altercation occurred at the high-security penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas, around 11:30 a.m. local time Monday morning. It involved members of the MS-13 street gang, the Associated Press reported.
The two inmates who died were 54-year-old Guillermo Riojas and 34-year-old Andrew Pineda, KFDM reported. The men were first transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Two additional inmates were also transported for assessment and treatment, the news station added. No other staff or inmates were injured, nor was there any additional threat to the public, the news station added.
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.
MS-13 originated in Los Angeles, California, during the 1970s and '80s. It has since expanded into an international criminal gang, operating mostly in North and Central America.
In the U.S., the gang has membership in at least 40 U.S. states, according to The Wall Street Journal. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 members live in the United States. However, in the U.S., the gang's local branches operate mostly independently rather than as a national group with shared aims.
The gang members are sometimes threatened into joining. New initiates must undergo a 13-second "beat in" in which current members punch and kick them.
The gang regularly retaliates against its perceived enemies, inflicting violence onto enemies' friends, family, neighbors and other associates. It has also targeted law enforcement and government officials as well as community groups. The gang's weapon of choice is a machete, according to former New York District Attorney Madeline Singas.
El Salvador's Supreme Court considers MS-13 and other similar gangs to be terrorist organizations, according to CNN.
A November 2021 investigative report by the Associated Press found the Bureau of Prisons to be beset with instances of "abuse, graft and corruption" committed by prison workers and contractors.
In early January, the agency's director, Michael Carvajal, resigned from his position. He had been appointed in February 2020 during the presidency of Donald Trump.
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