3 dead including white supremacist gang leader, 9 others injured in Nevada prison brawl

Three prisoners, including a white supremacist gang leader, are dead and nine other inmates were injured in a maximum-security prison brawl in Nevada this week, officials said.

The scuffle broke out late Tuesday morning at Ely State Prison in White Pine County, the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) reported.

The prison is about nine miles north of the city of Ely, which sits roughly 60 miles from the Nevada and Utah state line.

In a statement, the NDOC identified the dead as Zackaria Luz, 43, and Connor Brown, 22. The identity of the third person who was killed was being withheld Friday, pending next of kin notification.

Aryan Warriors white supremacist gang leader among those killed in Nevada prison fight

Department of Corrections records obtained by USA TODAY show Luz was serving seven to 20 years in prison after being convicted of 2019 racketeering and forgery charges in Clark County.

In an indictment naming 22 other defendants, Luz was charged with the felony crimes and named the leader of the Aryan Warriors white supremacist gang, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. According to the NDOC, he was booked into the prison on Oct. 5, 2023.

At the time of the indictment in 2019, the Aryan Warriors were described as an organized para-military group with operatives in both the prison system and the Las Vegas community, as reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. Imprisoned leaders would give orders to street-based members to commit crimes.

Previously from the USA TODAY Network:Aryan Warriors prison gang in Nevada charged with murder, drug trafficking, racketeering

Brown was serving 20-year prison sentence for robbery with the use of a deadly weapon in Washoe County, prison records show. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge after stabbing a gas station clerk and a casino patron during a Aug. 25, 2020 robbery in downtown Reno, KOTO-TV reported. 

He had been incarcerated at the prison since May 13, 2021, the NDOC reported.

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Several inmates at Ely State Prison flown to hospitals for treatment

The White Pine County Sheriff’s Office received a report about a large fight between inmates and responded to the detention center around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.

Prior to deputies responding, the sheriff’s office was notified multiple inmates had died in the fight and several others needed medical attention.

Detectives and the local coroner responded and found three inmates dead, the sheriff said.

Nine other inmates were transported to a local medical facility to be treated for unspecified wounds suffered in the fight. Several of the injured inmates were also taken by medical helicopter to hospitals.

What type of weapons were used in the prison fight?

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo's office said the fight was gang-related, as reported by KVVU-TV.

Officials did not reveal what type of weapons, if any, were used in the attack, how the three inmates were killed or what type of injuries the nine surviving prisoners suffered.

USA TODAY has reached out to the sheriff's office the NDOC.

The case remained under investigation on Friday.

According to its website, the prison opened in July 1989 and holds a maximum capacity of 1,183 inmates.

Contributing: Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette-Journal

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.