Authorities say all federal prisons in the United States were shut down overnight after a deadly gang battle at a facility in Texas.
Two convicts were slain late Monday at a jail in the town of Beaumont, according to the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which prompted the early Tuesday lockdowns. Andrew Pineda, 34, and Guillermo Riojas, 54, were recognized by authorities.
Two other inmates were brought to the hospital, although their conditions were not immediately disclosed.
The administration said it proceeded with "extreme care" when it ordered all federal prisons around the country to lock down, an uncommon action that confines offenders to their cells and prevents visitors.
More than 134,000 people are held in federal prisons across the United States for offenses committed at the federal level rather than at the state level.
"We expect this security measure to be temporary," the BOP said in a statement, adding that it "will continue to closely monitor events and alter its operations as the situation unfolds."
The Associated Press news agency and the New York Times newspaper, both citing unknown sources, stated that members of the MS-13 gang, which has connections to El Salvador, were involved in the battle in Texas.
Because of the gang's nationwide reach, there were fears that the violence might expand. This is at least the fourth countrywide lockdown since the beginning of 2020, with another one implemented in April of that year due to an increase in coronavirus infections.
During the disturbance in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and just before US President Joe Biden's inauguration, a countrywide lockdown was also imposed.
The new lockdown comes after a slew of significant security breaches at federal prisons, and it comes just days after BOP Director Michael Carvajal announced his resignation in the wake of criticism of his leadership.
The prison complex in Beaumont, which holds 1,372 men, has received a lot of attention recently, with union representatives bemoaning a major staffing shortage.
The Associated Press reported in June that security at the compound is so low that local cops privately laugh about its "open-door policy." In recent years, a number of convicts have escaped from the institution.
Senator Dick Durbin, the leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested for a "urgent briefing on this new act of violence in our federal prisons, and on what BOP is doing to safeguard employees and prisoners from additional violence" in a tweet sent out early Tuesday.
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