2 inmates hospitalized after stabbing at prison near Las Vegas

Two inmates at High Desert State Prison were hospitalized after a stabbing incident at the facility Wednesday, a Nevada Department of Corrections spokesperson said.

Though department spokesperson Teri Vance declined to provide additional details, she said in an email Wednesday night that the death of High Desert inmate Jose Cruz, which was announced in a news release earlier in the day, was unrelated. Cruz was pronounced dead Monday, the news release said.

According to the press release, Cruz, 26, was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder. The press release did not provide any additional details about Cruz’s death.

The news comes after the department transferred nearly 2,000 inmates between High Desert and Ely State Prison earlier this month, with High Desert becoming a maximum-security prison and Ely being downgraded from a maximum- to medium-security institution. Three people were killed in a fight at Ely State Prison in July.

High Desert State Prison, in Indian Springs, is a few dozen miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.