Jackson Free Press

WALNUT GROVE, Miss. (AP) — Nine inmates suffered cuts and stab wounds during a disturbance at the privately-run prison at Walnut Grove in Leake County.

Issa Arnita, corporate communications director for Management and Training Corporation, says in a statement that a fight broke out about 10 p.m. Thursday among a group of inmates in one of the six housing units.

He says the prison's emergency response team used chemical agents to gain control of the inmates. He says the incident lasted one hour.

He says the unit where the disturbance took place houses 240 inmates.

Nine offenders were injured. Seven were transported by ambulance to the local hospital and three were taken to a Jackson hospital. One injured inmate has returned to the facility.

Arnita says an investigation is underway.