Here are the questions: Why are there 2,080 (more than 2400 by some reports) prisoners in a 980 bed privately run facility? Are they sleeping shifts? Together? Why is this level of overcrowding allowed by the state?
Second riot breaks out at Texas prison
(CNN) -- Thousands of inmates rioted at the Reeves County Detention Center in Texas on Saturday, the second disturbance at the prison facility in the last two months.As many as 2,080 inmates from two of the center's three buildings began fighting in the prison yard about 4:30 p.m. ET, said county Sheriff's Office Dispatcher Anna Granado.
Officials do not know what prompted the riots. It was also not immediately clear whether the fighting resulted in injuries.
Authorities from several law enforcement agencies responded to quell the violence, Granado said.
On December 12, inmates took two workers hostage and set fire to the recreation area at the center in Pecos, located about 430 miles west of Dallas.
The inmates, who had made several demands, surrendered later that night.
The prison is a 980-bed, low-security facility, operated by Geo Group Inc. It houses federal prisoners as well as inmates from other states.
In December, rioting inmates at the facility about 430 miles west of Dallas sought better medical treatment. Officials said there were minor injuries.
The GEO Group, based in Boca Raton, Fla., has run the lockup through contracts with Reeves County and the Federal Bureau of Prisons since 2003. The prison holds more than 2,400 inmates.
Pablo E. Paez, a spokesman for GEO, did not immediately respond to phone or e-mail messages Saturday night.
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