Washington State Correctional Facility Inmates Threaten To Start Fires, Take Hostages

Washinton state authorities have been monitoring the situation at the Monroe Correctional Facility after hundreds of inmates reportedly threaten to start fires and take hostages. The protest started after six prisoners at the facility tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Fox News, there had been no casualties nor injuries so far to the men in the facility or the staff. Housing units inside the compound were fully evacuated, according to reports, and the facility has been placed on restricted movement. The situation is considered “under control” by correctional authorities.

Inmates and their families were allegedly concerned about the living conditions in the correctional, following the outbreak of COVID-19. Inside the facility, six prisoners have already tested positive for coronavirus. Corrections officials revealed that 111 inmates are detained in the same minimum-security area as the two prisoners who tested positive. The two inmates have since been removed and are in isolation.

The Department of Corrections has reported further that the inmates’ demonstration was being done in the recreation yard. Fire extinguishers have been set off in two housing units while half of the prisoners opted to adhere to verbal instructions from the prison officials, WBHM reported. The other half, however, were adamant in their protest and initially refused to obey.

A statement from the officials confirms additional measures are in place to control disruptive inmates which included pepper spray and sting balls, the use of which employed distraction by light, sudden and unbearable noise, and rubber pellets.

The six inmates who tested positive for coronavirus, meanwhile, continued to be under observation. Upon discovery of their status, reports said that they were asymptomatic; no visible signs of illness or disease were seen from them, and they were advised to continue to wear surgical masks for the protection of everyone else in the correctional.

On Sunday, the corrections department released a report saying that an MSU inmate had tested positive for the virus. This was followed by a confirmation that two more inmates, a 68-year-old and a 28-year-old, were also found positive of COVID-19.