Inmates took control of Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in northeastern North Carolina, on Monday prompting a response from more than 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Photo courtesy North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation/Facebook
Authorities regained control of a North Carolina jail from inmates who overran the facility Monday and took two correctional officers hostage, a local sheriff said, ending the nine-hour standoff.
Little is known about what occurred at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center, located in northeastern North Carolina about 114 miles east of Raleigh. In announcing that the situation had come to a close, Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin told reporters at an evening press conference that the investigation into the cause of the facility’s takeover would begin.
“I would say that this investigation could go on for several days, so we ask that everyone be patient with us,” he said.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that an unknown number of inmates at the detention center overpowered correctional guards and seized control of the facility at around 5 a.m. EDT.
Three guards were inside the facility housing 88 inmates when the takeover occurred. The NCSBI said inmates assaulted the on-duty guards, two of whom were taken hostage while the third was able to escape.
Authorities arrived on the scene within minutes, and secured the perimeter, but were unable to enter the jail as it was locked, Ruffin said.
Negotiations with the responsible inmates began, securing the release of 18 people being held at the jail at about 9:30 a.m., according to authorities. Twenty minutes later, another group of inmates was released, they said.
FBI SWAT, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team and the NCSBI were later able to gain entrance to the jail, secure the facility and release the two guards taken hostage.
“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.
The situation ended at about 2 p.m., Ruffin said.
He told reporters that he was unsure if any inmates were injured and that the correctional officers were “OK” and receiving treatment. The inmates who were being housed at the detention center hhad been moved to a secure facility, he said.
Inmates at the facility ranged from “lower-level offenders” to those who have been charged with murder, he added.
The extent of damage to the facility was being assessed, according to Ruffin, who said that “there is additional damage inside of the building.”
It was unclear how many inmates participated in the takeover at the jail, which Ruffin said was a regional facility that was run by an independent agency.
“I ask for the patience [over] the days ahead as we work to fully understand the events that took place and take necessary steps to ensure something like this does not happen again,” he said.
More than 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies responded to the incident, which is being investigated by the NCSBI and the FBI.
