Exclusive: Aftermath of Chino prison riot

CHINO, Calif. Eyewitness News gives you an exclusive look at the prison days after the fiery riot.

The prison was still under a state of emergency Tuesday, which means no visitors were allowed and the prison could not take any new inmates.

All 1,300 inmates involved in the weekend's riot were being transferred to other state facilities because the prison had unfit living conditions.

Eyewitness News was the only local station to enter the prison Tuesday. Most of the damage was to a building called Joshua Hall, which was where a fire broke out. A bathroom, an office and many of the barracks were among the casualties of the riot.

Seven other buildings are also in a very bad state. In many areas, mattresses were torn to shreds, bed frames ripped to parts, playing cards on the floor, along with cups, jumpsuits and dried blood was found inside. Sinks were even ripped off the walls of a bathroom.

When asked how bad the riot was in comparison to others, Lt. Mark Hargrove said, "This certainly is probably the worst that we've seen; especially adding the extensive damage to the unit that has been burned. That has never happened at this facility before. That adds to greater damages that we haven't seen before."

The investigation into the riot itself is going to take quite some time. There are 1,300 potential victims and 1,300 potential suspects. Investigators believe the riot was more likely than not motivated by race.

There were more than 250 injured in the melee and about 50 were taken to the hospital. On Tuesday afternoon one person was in critical condition and there were no fatalities.

It could take more than a month to repair the prison.

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