Around 20 inmates in Louisiana reportedly broke loose in an “uprising” inside a troubled facility in the state on Thursday night.
According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the SWAT responded after one Juvenile Justice office employee and two juveniles were injured after the inmates were able to take “control of areas inside the facility.”
The authorities received a report that there was a disturbance inside the facility around 9:49 pm.
“Around 20 youths escaped their housing areas and took control of areas inside the facility. None were able to escape the grounds. Around 40-50 deputies from our Patrol Division and Crisis Management Unit (SWAT) responded and were able to secure the facility by about midnight. The youths were returned to the custody of the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ), the state agency that operates the facility.” The sheriff’s department said.
Nearly 2 dozen juvenile inmates break loose inside troubled Louisiana facility, prompting SWAT: report https://t.co/U4xvJF3wAs
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 17, 2022
Upon their arrival, the authorities rushed the three injured to a nearby hospital.
The shocking incident was the latest breach at the troubled facility.
Reports revealed that just hours before the disturbance five inmates reportedly escaped early Thursday morning through a hole in a bathroom ceiling.
Authorities claimed that one of whom was still at large as of early Friday.
“There was a staffing issue. Someone was not paying attention. They got out of the gate, got out of the facility.” State Senator Pat Connick, R-Marrero said and added that the facility should be shut down.
“The facility is not designed to house inmates like these kids,” he said.
Jefferson Parish Councilman Deano Bonano also said on Thursday morning that the facility was not designed for juveniles.
“Keep in mind these aren’t just juvenile offenders, these are violent juvenile offenders: armed robbers, murderers, rapists and this facility is a minimum-security facility. It wasn’t designed for this.” He claimed.
Connick also claimed in his official statement that Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, “knows that this is a problem. Staffing is a major problem. The parole officers I understand are being brought into the jail to guard the inmates instead of being on the streets doing their work as parole officers.”
