Four of the five inmates killed during a prison riot were informants who were hanged by fellow prisoners, an official said Monday. State and county investigators examined the Montana State Prison's ransacked maximum-security building, which sustained severe fire and water damage during Sunday's four-hour riot.
Warden Jack McCormick said homemade weapons were found in the cellblock, including sharpened broomsticks, mop handles and metal.
He said the prison at Deer Lodge, 60 miles west of Helena, was "quiet and under control" Monday. The 1,170 inmates were confined to their cells or cellblocks.
State and prison officials said they do not know how or why the uprising occurred in the prison or who was involved.
They would not speculate on whether the riot was intended to punish inmates, mostly informants, being held in protective custody in the building.
The riot began in the maximum-security unit when inmates took five guards hostage. A team of 23 police officers rushed the building four hours later, firing tear gas and rescuing the hostages.
Authorities didn't know yet how the 68 inmates in the building got out of their cells at the same time. Curt Chisholm, state corrections director, would neither confirm nor deny reports that several inmates were hanged before the assault team entered the building. But an official who spoke on condition he not be named said four of the dead prisoners and one of the eight injured inmates were hanged by rioting inmates.
All of the inmates killed were informants, said Cathy Bender, prison spokeswoman.
