TALLAHASSEE, FL - A corrections officer started a gunfight inside a federal prison today as FBI agents tried to arrest him and five others on charges they traded alcohol and pot for sex with female prisoners, officials said. When the shooting was over, two people were dead and another was wounded.
 
The identities of the victims and condition of the survivor were not immediately released, and officials declined to say if the shooter was among the dead.

The six officers were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on charges alleging, among other things, that they exchanged contraband for sex with female inmates over a two-year period and used it to buy inmates' silence.

When FBI agents and Justice Department investigators arrived at the prison today to arrest the men, one of the indicted officers shot a federal corrections officer, said FBI spokesman John Girgenti. He said the officers fired back, and three federal employees were shot.

"The community is safe. The institution is in lockdown status," federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Carla Wilson said.

The detention center houses mostly men and is part of the Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution. A low security prison for female inmates is next to the detention center. Together the men's and women's units total 1,445 inmates.

The indictment accused five of the six officers of having sexual contact with eight inmates from September 2003 through September 2005 in exchange for contraband, which could include alcohol, drugs and money.

The officers also were accused of threatening to plant contraband in inmates' belongings or have them shipped to other facilities farther from their families if they reported the illegal activity.

According to the indictment, the officers showed inmates information about themselves and other prisoners on the prison system's computer system to prove their threats were real and that they could be tracked anywhere in the system. It said the officers switched duty assignments to arrange trysts with the female inmates.

Tallahassee police sent every available squad car to the prison at about 7:45 a.m. after receiving a 911 call, spokesman John Newland said.