Mexico: Multiple Police Officers Dead, Injured in Prison Riot

Police sources are reporting that seven officers have died and 22 others were injured during a prison riot in Veracruz, Mexico.

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Veracruz Governor Miguel Angel Yunes confirmed the deaths of six police officers, who died after inmates locked and set him on fire. Fifteen police officers are hospitalized and at least seven prisoners suffered injuries, the governor stated.

“The six police officers were attacked and were enclosed in an area with no exit,” Mr. Yunes said. “The inmates started a fire, and with the smoke, they caused the asphyxiation and death of the six police officers.”

Inmates, according to Economia, were also armed with various carpentry tools. The prisoners allegedly ignited mattresses in a bid to create a diversion.

“This could have caused the suffocation of the agents, experts from the State Attorney's Office analyze the causes of death,” Mexican newspaper La Jornada reported, citing an official.

The riot took place at La Toma correctional facility on Saturday. Police officers were called into action after the prisoners revolted during the transfer of high-risk detainees.

Yunes added that steps were being made to identify the body of a seventh victim, to determine whether it belongs to an officer or a prisoner.

The incident is being investigated.

In October, 13 people were killed in a riot at a jail in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.