LOS ANGELES- Guards at a downtown Los Angeles jail fired rubber pellets and pepper spray to swiftly quell a racially charged brawl involving more than 60 inmates, and several injured prisoners were taken to a hospital, a jail spokesman said.

The altercation between Hispanic and African-American inmates erupted shortly after noon local time in a third-floor recreation area inside Tower One of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail.

Whitmore said corrections officers fired rubber "sting balls" and pepper spray into the fracas, managing to break up the disturbance in one or two minutes.

"This is something that does occur throughout our jail system from time to time," Whitmore said. "People in our jails are under a lot of tension ... and it does regrettably happen."

Whitmore said four of the inmates were taken to a hospital with cuts, bruises and other non-life-threatening injuries.

But Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott told Reuters six patients were transported to the hospital, two in serious condition, though he did not know whether all of them were inmates.

The precise cause of the fight was under investigation, Whitmore said. The Twin Towers facility, one of eight detention centers run by the sheriff's department throughout the county, houses roughly 4,500 inmates, Whitmore said.

The jail system as a whole, the largest in the United States, comprises more than 18,000 prisoners and has long been plagued by overcrowded conditions. 

A New Jersey Transit train was forced to make an unscheduled stop after a large brawl broke out inside one of the cars, leading to the ejection of several passengers.
 
It's not yet clear what sparked the brawl, which broke out shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday on a northbound Bergen/Port Jervis line train.

NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. told The Star-Ledger of Newark that the fight began about 10 minutes after the train departed from Secaucus. The train soon made an unscheduled stop in East Rutherford, and authorities broke up the brawl.

More news from NBC10.com

Sixteen people were eventually ordered off the train, and two were issued summons for disorderly conduct. One person was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The train resumed service 20 minutes after the unscheduled stop.

NBCPhiladelphia.com

A New Jersey man who wound up being Tased by police has been identified as one of the main troublemakers in a brawl between two wedding parties at a Philadelphia hotel, authorities said.

Philadelphia police say they booked 26-year-old Matthew Sofka of Westfield, N.J., on charges including assault on police, inciting a riot and reckless endangerment.

Sofka was a guest at a family member’s wedding at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel when a brawl broke out with another wedding party about 1:30 am. Sunday. Police called in extra patrols to quell the 75- to 100-person rumble. Police say most of the fighters were drunk.

During the brawl, police used a Taser to subdue Sofka, a relative of the groom.

The uncle of one of the brides, Vincent Sannuti, 57, suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead at Jefferson University Hospital, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported. Sannuti, who was also celebrating his birthday, was not involved in the melee, according to police.

View NBCPhiladelphia.com's coverage on wedding night fallout

Portions of the chaotic brawl were caught on cellphone camera by Max Schultz, a 15-year-old guest at the hotel who was not part of the wedding parties. 

"I was up on the second floor watching. It was bedlam, out of hand," said Schultz, who posted the video to YouTube. “They just started punching each other and hitting each other and the people just came in and started clubbing people.”

Philadelphia Police Sgt. Sean Dandridge was hit in the head during the melee and received treatment for concussion-like symptoms. He is expected to recover.

Dandridge’s apparent Facebook page, which says he’s a Philadelphia cop, had this message posted Monday morning: “Getting checked out at hospital. No serious neurological injury. Awaiting more tests. Mom called: "Now it's on The Good Day Show." My head started hurting again.... Doc said "Take it easy..."

In the video, a police officer is seen striking Sofka three times with a baton. Police say he was then subdued with a Taser -- an act not caught on camera. Schultz is heard on the video saying, “Did they just deck the bride? They just decked the bride.”

Police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers told The Philadelphia Inquirer it was actually not the bride, but rather a bridesmaid who had been hit.

Aside from Sofka, two other people were cited for disorderly conduct for their alleged roles in the brawl.

Police say there could be more arrests.

The hotel released a statement in response to the fight.

"We continue to cooperate with the authorities and as this is an ongoing police investigation any questions should be directed to the local police department. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family for their loss."

NBCPhiladelphia.com's Jackie Galley, Dan Stamm and Danielle Johnson and NBC News' Sevil Omer contributed to this report.

More content from NBCNews.com:

• Visit Detroit at your own risk, police union warns
• Search for missing Colorado schoolgirl expanded after backpack found
• Analysis: What to expect at Sandusky's sentencing
• 'They just decked the bride': Wild wedding melee caught on camera
• After police shooting of naked college student, mother asks why
• Video: Kony 2012 filmmaker: ‘I was not in control of my mind’

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

AP File Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Twin Towers Correctional Facility, seen in 2007, had to pepper spray inmates to break up a brawl there Wednesday.

A fight between four people behind bars at a Los Angeles County jail spiraled into a brawl involving 78 inmates on Wednesday, forcing deputies to use pepper spray and sting grenades to quell the disturbance.

The fight at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, was "divided along racial lines" in a housing pod of the jail's Tower 1, according to Captain Mike Parker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. It wasn't clear what set off the inmates. 

Seven inmates were taken to the hospital for minor to moderate injuries, officials said, and all 78 were treated for exposure to pepper spray as a precaution. None suffered serious injuries, and no sheriff's department personnel were hurt.

Deputies tried ordering the inmates to stop fighting, but resorted to the pepper spray and sting balls -- hand-thrown rubber pellets that produce a stinging sensation on the skin when they detonate -- when they didn't comply, Parker said. No other force was used, and the brawl ended after 15 minutes.

The Twin Towers Correctional Facility is located in downtown Los Angeles.

More content from NBCNews.com:

• Shotgun pellet's 'miracle' path spared victim's life
• Gun owners: 'We are your neighbors, co-workers, friends'
• Panetta: Transition system for vets is 'overwhelmed'
• Pentagon launches 'Stolen Valor' website for military medals
• Teen charged with murder in Bronx playground shooting
• One in six sex offenders lives undetected digital double life, study finds
• Video: Killer whale tries to drown SeaWorld trainer

Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook