Inmates at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor, North Carolina, overpowered three correctional officers and seized control of the facility around 5 a.m. Monday, taking two of the officers hostage and triggering a response from more than 20 law enforcement agencies, authorities said.
The jail, about 114 miles east of Raleigh, held 88 inmates at the time. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said the inmates assaulted the on-duty officers; two were taken hostage while a third escaped. The facility’s locking mechanism prevented officers from entering immediately after the takeover began, Sheriff Ruffin said.
Negotiations with the responsible inmates secured the release of 18 people at approximately 9:30 a.m., and another group was freed 20 minutes later, according to authorities. FBI SWAT teams and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team then entered the facility, freed the two guard hostages and secured the building. The standoff ended around 2 p.m.
“All inmates and staff are safe and accounted for, and those who sustained injuries received treatment,” the FBI’s Charlotte field office said in a statement.
Ruffin said the correctional officers were “OK” and receiving treatment. He said he was unsure whether any inmates were injured. The inmates who had been housed at the detention center were transferred to a secure facility.
The extent of damage to the building was still being assessed. Ruffin said there was “additional damage inside of the building.” It was unclear how many inmates participated in the takeover.
The investigation, led by the NCSBI and the FBI, is expected to take several days. “I would say that this investigation could go on for several days, so we ask that everyone be patient with us,” Ruffin said.
He described the detention center’s inmate population as ranging from “lower-level offenders” to individuals charged with murder. The jail is a regional facility operated by an independent agency. Ruffin asked for patience “as we work to fully understand the events that took place and take necessary steps to ensure something like this does not happen again.”