About 500 inmates at New Castle Correctional Facility in New Castle, Ind., staged a two-hour riot Tuesday before officials restored order, according to The Associated Press.
Two staff and seven inmates sustained minor injuries during the riot, which allegedly began after newly-transferred prisoners from Arizona took their shirts off as a sign of defiance. Some of the transferred prisoners had complained about a lack of recreation activities and other programs at the facility, the AP reported.
No inmates escaped the facility and officials said they acted quickly to secure the facility's perimeter after the riot began. Inmates set at least two fires in the courtyard, while five guards and maintenance workers barricaded themselves in a room to prevent inmates from getting in. The riot ended after officials used tear gas, according to the AP.
GEO Group Inc., a Florida company, signed an agreement with Indiana's state government last year to manage the facility. Indiana agreed in March to house up to 1,260 of Arizona's inmates, which is part of that state's solution to prison overcrowding, the AP reported.
