NATCHEZ — Adams County Correctional Center remains on lockdown and will stay that way indefinitely as federal and prison officials investigate the cause of the Sunday riot that left a correctional officer dead and injured multiple prison employees and inmates.

“Obviously, we have to clean up the facility and fix things that are broken,” said Steve Owen, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, the parent company of the ACCC. “Likewise, the investigation (into the riot) is ongoing, and keeping the facility in lockdown allows things to proceed as they should.”

Lockdown means that the inmates are confined to their cells, and Owen said the prison has both two-man cells and dormitory-style housing.

“There is no inmate movement on the facility except for with a staff escort. For example, rather than going to the cafeteria, food will be taken to housing areas to feed them,” Owen said.

At approximately 2:45 p.m. Sunday, a prisoner insurrection within the facility began, with inmates arming themselves with hastily constructed weapons and using trashcan lids for shields. Several hostages were taken — though later released — and correctional officer Catlin Carithers, 24, was killed after receiving blunt force trauma to the head while deploying tear gas canisters from the roof of one of the buildings.

The exact cause of the riot is still under investigation, and Owen said that no corrections system is immune to such incidents occurring. The availability of security footage, and who or what exactly incited the incident are still matters of investigation, he said.

Emergency protocols were followed during the riot, Owen said.

“There (were) multiple buildings involved, and there is not a sort of one-button approach,” he said. “You plan and you train for incidents like this occurring, but even the best training in the world doesn’t mean that you will be prepared for every little thing happening.”

“Our No. 1 goal continues to be public safety, and they did a great job with that by keeping that incident contained.”

During the riot, someone claiming to be an inmate called a news station and told a reporter there that the riot was because of ill treatment and lack of medical attention. Owen said that claim was “unconfirmed information” and that “we need to let the investigation run its course.”

The ACCC is accredited with the independent American Correctional Association, and scored 99.5 percent on its most recent audit, conducted in 2010.

U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, which in turn oversees the Federal Bureau of Prisons, called for an investigation into the incident Tuesday.

“The inmate riot at the Adams County Correctional Facility, which led to the death of a facility employee, is extremely troubling and brings into question the effectiveness of privately owned and operated prison facilities,” Thompson said.  “I urge the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to complete a quick and thorough investigation of the incident, so we can ensure changes are put into place so this does not happen again.”

Owen said he was not familiar with the congressman’s comments and could not comment directly, but said an investigation is already under way.

“The FBI is heading the investigation at the facility, and we are working closely with them, as well as our government partner, the FBP,” he said.

“We are certainly going to want to review this incident, and we want to make sure whatever we do is working with the federal investigators.”

While the FBI is the lead investigative agency for the incident, Owen said they would also be working with local law enforcement. Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said his office is in a “holding pattern” while they wait for federal officials to make a call on how to proceed.

“The last information I have was the FBI was collecting evidence right now, and they were waiting to hear from their legal people on whether they were going to prosecute federally or if they were going to let us do the prosecution through the state,” Mayfield said.

The decision on whether or not to move prisoners to other facilities in the wake of the riot ultimately lies with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Owen said.

Grief and crisis counselors have been deployed to the prison, and Owen said employees are resolute in the wake of the incident.

“The staff I saw are holding their heads up high,” he said. “There has been an outpouring of thoughts, prayers and support, and we are appreciative of that. The staff is feeling a tremendous amount of support from (both) outside and within the company.”