An early morning fire at the Texas State Penitentiary forced nearly 700 inmates to be evacuated from its Huntsville unit, authorities said Friday.
Footage taken from the scene shows flames and smoke billowing out of the prison.
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The fire erupted around 2:30 a.m., Huntsville Fire Chief Greg Mathis said at a press conference, adding that first responders had contained the main fire but that other, smaller ones in the administration building were still burning.
The attic of the prison’s west building and the attic of the third floor of the administration building are the units that were most affected, said Amanda Hernandez, director of communications for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“Everyone is safe,” she said, adding that, if needed, the inmates could be transferred to other prisons throughout the state. There was no immediate word on what caused the fire.
BREAKING: Crews are working to put out a fire at the TDCJ Walls Unit in Huntsville this morning. According to TDCJ, approximately 320 inmates have been evacuated & so far there have been no injuries reported. @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/zEblqCn2GR
— Courtney Carpenter (@ABC13CourtneyC) August 25, 2023
The facility, established in 1845, holds around 1,700. The state carries out executions of death row prisoners at the Huntsville unit.
Karla Faye Tucker, dubbed the “Pickax Killer,” was executed at the Huntsville unit in 1998. She was the first American woman to be sentenced to death in Texas since the Civil War.
Covering the #Huntsville prison fire. pic.twitter.com/Oe2TX1vOZe
— Tammy Rose (@ABC13Helicopter) August 25, 2023
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Other notable former inmates include Duane Lee Chapman, better known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Chapman was convicted of first-degree murder and spent five years in the Huntsville unit in connection to the death of Jerry Oliver in 1976.
Carlos Coy, an American rapper, and founder of Dope House Records, has been behind bars there since 2002, after being found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a 9-year-old child.
