Five inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison in California conspired to kill a fellow prisoner last week, according to authorities. The incident occurred on Thursday evening at the maximum-security facility located near the Oregon border.

Rene B. Lopez, 31, was found with fatal injuries inside a housing unit around 6 p.m. Correctional staff pronounced him dead roughly an hour later at the prison clinic. Lopez was serving a 29-year sentence for an assault involving a firearm in Los Angeles County.

Following an investigation that included a review of surveillance footage, prison officials identified two inmates, Joseph W. Morales and Richard Garcia, as the primary assailants. Both men used homemade weapons during the attack, authorities reported.

Morales, 40, was convicted in 2019 of homicide in Woodcrest, an area south of Riverside. Garcia, 52, has been serving a life sentence since 1997 for murder and assault in San Luis Obispo County. The five inmates involved worked together to carry out the assault, highlighting coordinated planning, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Officials have not disclosed the motives behind the killing or further details about the roles of the other three inmates involved. The department continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the slaying and any potential security lapses within the facility. No additional information about charges or disciplinary actions has been released at this time.