RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A fight between inmates in a prison in the Brazilian city of Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia (northeast), ended with five dead and 18 wounded, official sources reported Monday.
The event occurred on Sunday afternoon when prison officers began to hear gunshots in one of the modules of the Mata Escura Complex, added the Bahia Public Security Secretariat in a statement.
Uniformed members of the Military Police immediately went to the place and “prevented the escape of inmates through the main door of that unit,” according to the note.
Shortly after that, several special forces teams arrived and reestablished control of the prison and seized knives and firearms during a round of inspections.
The Homicide Department of the Civil Police is investigating the motives for the incident, which is suspected of having been a fight between inmates from rival criminal gangs.
In a new inspection on Monday, Brazilian authorities found a 40 caliber pistol and two ammunition magazines inside a cell.
The Brazilian prison system is considered by international organizations as one of the “worst” and “most inhumane” globally due to high overcrowding, constant riots, poor sanitary conditions, and the power of criminal gangs operating from inside the prisons.
Brazil has some 702,000 people in its prisons, according to the latest data from the National Penitentiary Department.