One of three Northern Nevada Correctional Center inmates struck by bird shot pellets Friday during a scuffle was flown to a Reno hospital for treatment.
Department of Prisons spokesman Glen Whorton said Saturday that the inmate's injuries were not life-threatening.
"Several pellets were removed from his head and it is expected that he will return to the institution today," Whorton said. He said the other injured inmates were treated at the institution infirmary and returned to their cells.
According to Whorton, two inmates engaged in a fist fight at 5:13 p.m. Friday. Officers gave a verbal order to stop and fired a blank warning round from a shotgun. When they continued to fight, a single round of bird shot was fired at the floor of the unit, Whorton said.
Both inmates were struck by pellets and then complied with the officers' orders. Whorton said a third, uninvolved inmate was also struck by a single pellet.
One inmate was taken by CareFlight helicopter to Washoe Medical Center.
Whorton said none of the inmates names has been released and the cause of the incident was still under investigation Saturday. He said the incident did not interrupt the normal operation of the center.
