17 killed in failed Mexican prison break
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Xinhua, July 27, 2011
At least 17 people were killed in a shootout with police in a prison in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, local authorities said on Tuesday.
Inmates exchanged fire with police after grabbing weapons from security forces during a failed breakout attempt late Monday evening, Mexican press reported.
City spokesman Manuel del Castillo told local press that after the shootout the police entered the prison and found that 17 people were dead, including one woman.
The shooting happened after a fight erupted between the two gangs "Aztecas" and "Mexicles", which led to a riot and an attempt by a group of prisoners to escape from the prison.
The spokesman said the incident began at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 GMT Tuesday) when around 20 prisoners from the "Mexicles" gang called on fellow prisoners to rebel and disarm the guards.
The guards confronted the mutineers but after that a confrontation with firearms began. Members of the other gang "Aztecas" was involved in the clash.
Prison authorities asked for military and federal help to bring events under control. After several hours of rioting, local and federal police, supported by military forces, regained control over the prison.
There has been a number of escape attempts by prisoners in Mexico in recent months, including an incident on July 15 in which seven prisoners died and another 62 managed to escape from a prison in Nuevo Laredo in the northern state of Tamaulipas. Five guards were reported to be implicated in the event.
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