DELANO, Calif. — Officials at the Kern Valley State Prison are investigating a deadly use of force incident that happened on Monday, April 29 following a fight with multiple inmates.

According to officials, four inmates battered a fifth inmate with stabbing weapons and when officers arrived on scene, they did not comply to orders to stop. This required officers to use multiple chemical agents and less lethal munitions.

The inmates continued to attack the fifth inmate and according to officials this is when an officer discharged one round from a Mini-14 rifle. One of the assailants suffered a gunshot wound.

The Emergency Response Vehicle, an outside ambulance and a Medi-Vac (helicopter) were immediately summoned, and three of the inmates were transported to area hospitals.

Their conditions are not known at this time and no staff injuries were reported.

Following the incident, the CDCR sent a Deadly Force Investigation Team to conduct an investigation into the use of deadly force. The review board iwll conduct a full review of the incident.