Inmate killed by shot from outside minimum security prison Inmate killed by shot from outside minimum security prison (May 05, 2000)

By Greg Kozocas

Mountain View police are continuing to investigate a mysterious shooting last week which left one inmate dead and two staff workers injured when a gunman fired into a minimum security prison on East Middlefield Road.

Michael Duayne Wallace, 20, was pronounced dead April 27 at Stanford Hospital from a gunshot wound that passed through the building's front window, down a 50-foot hallway and through Wallace's chest and into a plaster wall. He was due to be released from the facility in less than a week.

The two probation department employees suffered minor injuries from flying glass fragments, police officials said.

The incident took place about 10 p.m, when Wallace was on clean-up duty, mopping the hallway and talking with another inmate. Police said that a single bullet was fired, without warning, into the building and struck and killed Wallace.

Rick Kitson, Sr., of the probation department and Brian Ziel, a counselor for the work furlough program, told the Voice that nobody knows why the incident occurred or where the shot was fired from.

Shortly after the shooting, the facility brought in counselors and psychologists to meet with anyone who needed emotional support. However, most inmates refused to discuss the shooting, fearing that they might endanger themselves, Kitson said.

Mountain View Police would not release information about Wallace's record or comment on the investigation. A search for the suspect is under way.

The work furlough facility houses non-violent inmates who have been convicted of drug offenses, drunk driving and other non-violent crimes. Located at 590 East Middlefield Rd., the center has never had an incident like a shooting, or any violent act occur since it opened 16 years ago, Ziel told the Voice.

The center is a low-security institution where inmates spend their nights and free time. During the day the inmates are permitted to leave the premises to work or attend to other personal needs.

The police said they have no solid leads in the case and do not know if the shooting was aimed at anyone particular or if it was a random act.