1 Dead, 6 Injured in Riot After Drug Search at Tijuana Prison

SAN DIEGO —  A large-scale search for drugs at Tijuana’s sprawling La Mesa Penitentiary erupted into violence and shooting early Saturday, leaving one inmate dead, two others injured and four police officers injured, Mexican authorities said.

The disturbance began about 7 a.m., police said, when inmates began tossing rocks and bottles at about 300 police officers who had entered the facility two hours earlier to conduct an extensive surprise search for drugs.

Authorities say prisoners began their attack after the officers had completed the search, which turned up a considerable amount of drugs. When the prisoners became hostile, authorities fired warning shots into the air, according to a statement from the Baja California State Judicial Police.

The dead man, a federal prisoner identified as Manuel Cisneros Gallo, 23, died of a stab wound, according to police. Earlier reports had indicated that he was killed by a bullet.

His assailant was believed to have been another prisoner, said Carlos Peraza, a state police agent in Tijuana.

The six injured men, including the four police officers, were treated at area hospitals Saturday and released, officials said.

Two of the injured police officers were shot, officials said. It was not clear who fired the shots, or whether lawmen fired directly at the prisoners.

Order was restored about 30 minutes after the disturbance broke out at the overcrowded facility, which now houses about 2,300 inmates, said Capt. Jose Zendejas Martinez of the Tijuana Police.

No prisoners escaped during the riot, authorities said.

A team of 300 federal, state and city law enforcement officials entered the prison about 5 a.m. to begin the drug search, authorities said.

Triggering the operation, Mexican police said, were recent comments by former prison jailers, who told federal investigators that illegal drugs were widely sold and distributed at the facility.