By Eric Scicchitano
The News-Item
COAL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — SCI-Coal Township remains on lockdown after four inmates were involved in multiple assaults with weapons Wednesday.
The assaults occurred about 7:30 a.m. in a common area of the institution on the way to the dining room, according to the office of Superintendent Vincent Mooney.
The types of weapons allegedly used were not specified.
Two inmates were treated for injuries at Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital before being returned to the prison. The injuries are not believed to be serious.
All four are in a restricted housing unit while the incident is under review. State police at Stonington will determine if criminal charges will be filed.
No staff members were injured.
Mooney declared a state of emergency Wednesday, suspending unspecified Department of Corrections policies while a facility-wide search is conducted. Both the search and the lockdown carried into Thursday.
“The prison will remain locked down during the entire search, which may last several days,” Mooney said in a press release.
The entire inmate population will be locked and fed inside their cells for the duration of the search. The only time they’ll be out of the cell is while the cell is being searched by prison staff and Corrections Emergency Response Team members from neighboring state prisons, according to Trisha Kelley, the superintendent’s assistant.
“The public is not at risk, but officials believe that the recent assaults warrant a search of the entire facility for any sort of contraband items, or items that inmates are not permitted to possess,” according to the press release.
The prison has been “locked down several times this past year” to conduct institutional searches, but a specific number was not provided. Kelley said state policy requires all facilities be searched at least twice yearly.
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