All inmates in US federal prisons will not be allowed to leave their cells for the time being. Authorities announced a lockdown after deadly gang violence broke out at a Texas facility.
More than 134,000 inmates in more than 120 prisons are affected by the measure.
The violence broke out in an institution near the city of Beaumont on Monday morning (local time), according to American media. Four inmates were taken to the hospital. Two of them died.
Sources tell the New York Times that the infamous Hispanic gang MS-13 was involved in the Texas incident. Prison authorities would like to prevent rival gangs in multiple prisons from retaliating.
The American prison service Bureau of Prisons hopes with the exceptional measure “to guarantee good order in our institutions”. It is not yet clear how long the lockdown will last. Authorities expect it to be “short-lived”.