Military Police Storm Prison To Free Guard Taken Hostage

Troops using fire hoses and pepper spray stormed a military prison Sunday to free a guard held hostage by an inmate the guard had confronted for wearing a T-shirt on his head.

About 140 specially trained military police soldiers made the rescue and restored order in the embattled wing of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, which remained under lockdown Sunday, said Janet Wray, prison spokeswoman.

During the five-hour standoff, inmates made barricades, broke windows and set off fire extinguishers.

The guard, Pfc. Thomas M. Enochs, was hospitalized in satisfactory condition with undisclosed injuries. Two other guards who tried to help him suffered minor injuries, but escaped without becoming hostages.

Three inmates were treated for minor injuries.

The name of the inmate who held Enochs wasn’t disclosed. It was unclear how many of the 168 inmates in the wing were involved, Wray said.

Wray described the incident as a “spontaneous thing” that erupted when Enochs challenged the inmate with the T-shirt on his head. The prison is a military barracks with a rigid dress code.