By Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SPARTA, Ga. — State prisons were on heightened alert Saturday after a gang fight Friday night at a facility in east Georgia sent 12 inmates to the hospital.
The disturbance broke out around 8 p.m. Friday at Hancock State Prison in Sparta.
There were no injuries to prison guards or other staff members, and there were no escape attempts during what a prison spokeswoman called a “significant” disturbance.
“The fight appears to be gang related,” said Gwendolyn Hogan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections. “The department believes without a doubt that cell phones were used to organize and coordinate the disturbance.”
The prison is a 1450-bed facility is a close security prison, primarily housing “violent, long-sentenced prisoners,” Hogan said.
Full Story: Twelve inmates hurt in Georgia prison gang fight