Death row inmate killed in California prison as guards deploy blast grenades to control violent mob attack

Officers ordered them to get down, but the men failed to comply, according to a CDCR news release obtained by Fox News Digital.

Chemical agents initially stopped the attack, but more than 30 additional inmates rushed Renteria and began striking him.

Orders to stop were ignored, and staff used multiple blast grenades to quell the violence, according to CDCR.

Mendez suffered multiple wounds, and life-saving measures were immediately taken. He was taken to the prison's triage and treatment area, where a doctor pronounced him dead at 11:05 a.m.

Officials said an improvised weapon was found at the scene, though the type of weapon was unclear.

Renteria remains in restricted housing pending investigation, according to CDCR. 

Mendez was received from Riverside County on Dec. 2, 2004, according to CDCR. He received a condemned sentence in 2002 for the first-degree murder of two teenagers.

Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005 and houses over 3,100 minimum- and high-security-custody inmates.