Gomez Palacio, Mexico – Yesterday, we reported that an attempted prison break at Penal de Gomez Palacio resulted in 17 deaths. As of today, Mexico authorities said that the attempted jail break has claimed at least 22, a number which could continue to increase.

At least 22 are dead in a prison break that occurred at Cesero No. 2 facility in Gomez Palacio, Mexico on Wednesday. Fernando Rivas, a spokesman for Durango state police, said that of the 22 dead, nine were guards and 13 were inmates. A bloody shootout broke out late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning with 17 fatalities initially reported.

“The number of dead could increase although we hope not. A number of guards and prisoners are currently in a critical state,” Rivas said. He also noted that some of the guards could have been complicit in allowing weapons to fall into the hands of the inmates, reports Reuters.

LA Late reports that Public Safety Secretary for the state, Jesus Antonio Rosso Holguin, reported 23, not 22, dead earlier Wednesday, but that local reports put the death toll much higher.

One such report lists 25 individuals killed in the prison break, while others are reporting that 14 inmates were killed with the remaining number consisting of prison guards.

The official report continued: “The inmates started to shoot with firearms toward the guard towers and the guard areas.”

Officials said that the prison break was stopped by the swift response of state police, leaving news outlets to speculate as to how high the death toll could have been. Without such response, it could have easily been more than 22 dead in the prison break.

22 Dead In Prison Break: Bloody Shootout Culminates In Fatalities On Both Sides is a post from: The Inquisitr