Officers fatally shoot 2 Tulare County inmates after stabbing at Northern California prison

SUSANVILLE, Calif. — Two correctional officers shot and killed two incarcerated inmates from Tulare County who were stabbing a fellow inmate at a Northern California prison, authorities said Wednesday.

Staff at High Desert State Prison in Susanville responded around 11 a.m. Tuesday after Anthony Aguilera was attacked by two men wielding makeshift weapons, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

When the attackers ignored verbal orders, officers fired a warning shot from a Mini-14 rifle and deployed chemical agents, corrections officials said.

"Staff then fired additional rounds when the attack continued," the statement said.

The alleged attackers, Frank Nanez and Raul Cuen, were struck by gunfire and died a short time later, officials said. The inmate manufactured weapons were recovered.

Raul Cuen, 48, was admitted from Tulare County on January 27, 1994. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, with an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon.

Frank Nanez, 32, was admitted from Tulare County on February 2, 2012, to serve seven years to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, with multiple counts of an intentional discharge of a firearm.

Aguilera, 68, was hospitalized in serious condition. He was admitted from Santa Clara County in March 2007 and is serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole for attempted first and second-degree murder, intentional discharge of a firearm, inflicting great bodily injury and committing a street gang act in the commission of a violent felony, officials said.

The two officers, who were not identified, were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, consistent with CDCR policy.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: 2 Tulare County inmates, shot, killed after California prison stabbing