Contributed by: filbert Tuesday, August 09 2005 @ 06:52 AM CST
Gang war[*1] in prison:
It all started Aug. 1 with three assaults by Latinos on white inmates in North Block, a sprawling section with five tiers of cells. It appears some Latino prisoners took issue with a tattoo or marking that one of the white prisoners had, indicating he was allied with Latino gangs in Southern California.
The north/south gang rivalry in California has been going on for nearly four decades, one of the products of which was the split between the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia.
Now gangs from the north wear red and gangs from the south wear blue. Territorial fights on the streets are often deadly.
42 inmates were injured in the riot.