A prison official says racial tensions led to a brawl in which 1 inmate was killed and 5 were hospitalized at the United States Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida on Sunday.
A local chief of the prison workers union, Joe Rojas, said the attack was a battle that had long been simmering between the black and white inmates, although federal authorities have not yet characterized the brawl, USA Today reports.
The brawl reportedly broke out around 11:45 a.m on Sunday. (RELATED: WATCH: Inmate Takes On 12 Before Being Subdued In Wild Prison Brawl)
Rojas said Troi Venable, the victim, was killed with a homemade knife.
Venable was serving a 17-year term for gun possession by a felon and assault, according to USA Today.
In 2014, Venable was charged along with 2 other prisoners for hurting another inmate using “improvised weapons” at a Pennsylvania federal prison. (RELATED: Kim Kardashian Visits America’s Most Notorious Prison In Effort To Save Inmate On Death Row)
Inmates are now confined to their cells with suspended visitation and the prison has been locked down since the attack.
The penitentiary currently has 1,326 total inmates, all of whom are male, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.