By Matt Howerton
KOAT
GALLUP, N.M. — New pictures show the damage caused during a disturbance at the McKinley County Detention Center Thursday when inmates set fire to their housing pod.
The chaos began around 1 p.m., when jail officials were told that there was a plumbing backup in a housing pod. Officials started moving approximately 33 inmates out to fix it, but during the process, some of the inmates became unruly and started setting fire to their clothing and mattresses.
The jail was put on lockdown while fire crews and police surrounded the facility, but some of the inmates wouldn’t leave the pod when crews came to put the fire out. Tear gas was eventually used to force the inmates out, and order was restored around 3 p.m.
Full story: Photos of scorched McKinley County jail released