A 36 year-old inmate at High Desert State Prison is recovering today after being shot in the right hip by a Correctional Officer who was preventing an assault on another inmate.
According to Lieutenant Nick Albonico from the California Department of Corrections, the inmate was shot as he and two other inmates were kicking a fourth inmate in the head.
A prison staff member saw the victim being kicked and ordered the three suspects to stop the assault. When the suspects failed to stop the assault two warning shots were fired. The suspects continued the assault and one of the suspects was shot.
That assault victim lost consciousness during the incident, was treated at the prison’s treatment center and later was transported to an outside hospital.
The inmate that suffered the gunshot wound was also transported to an outside hospital for treatment. The other two suspects in the assault case were not injured and were placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit.
Two other inmates suspected of participating in the attack were not injured. They were being held in isolation while the incident was investigated.
The case is under investigation by the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office, the Investigative Services Unit at HDSP and the Deadly Force Investigation Team.
