SAN QUENTIN, Calif., Aug. 8 -- Forty-two inmates were injured Monday when a simmering dispute between two ethnic groups erupted into the largest riot at San Quentin State Prison in 23 years.
The fight broke out between white and Hispanic inmates in a dormitory-style medium-security unit that houses about 900 prisoners, said Vernell Crittendon, the prison's public information officer.
Prison officials said as many as 80 inmates in several different buildings were involved in the tumult, which lasted six minutes. It took about 50 officers armed with batons and pepper spray to quell the fight.
Authorities could not pinpoint what sparked the riot, but they ruled out gang or drug-related activity.