Nine workers at a Minnesota prison were hospitalized Thursday after they fell ill after exposure to unknown substances.
The event at Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwaterthe state’s largest prison, occurred around 7:45 a.m. when a guard found an inmate smoking in his cell, Minnesota Department of Corrections said.
“Staff experienced an adverse reaction which included dizziness, nausea and increased heart rate. He was taken by ambulance to Lakeview Hospital” said the doctor.
Several other employees became ill when a second inmate “threw a container of an unknown substance from his cell that landed” near the workers, leading to more illnesses.
Ten workers were exposed, nine of whom were treated at the hospital before being released. One received a dose of Narcan. The subjects are still being tested.
The jail was placed on lockdown and is likely to remain on lockdown through Saturday morning, DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell said.
“We are prioritizing our investigative efforts to identify and prosecute those responsible for conspiring to introduce these substances into the secure correctional environment,” Schnell said.
Schnell said a number of possible overdose deaths have occurred in Minnesota prisons this year, but they remain under investigation.
The facility is located in Bayport, approximately 47 miles east of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.