Three people were hospitalized, one in critical condition, after emergency crews responded Tuesday to a county jail in Castaic, authorities said.
Initial reports were that about 20 people were injured in some kind of mass casualty incident at Pitchess Detention Center, according to Henry Narvaez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The inmates experienced a medical emergency after having possibly ingested a controlled substance, the LA County Sheriff's Department said.
Fire department medics evaluated the patients and ambulances transported three of them to a hospital outside the lockup, Narvaez said. One person was critical and the two others had moderate injuries, he said. More than 8,500 male inmates are held at the sprawling jail complex in Castaic, about 40 mile north of downtown Los Angeles.