North Carolina prison uprising sees guards taken captive in hours-long siege

Prisoners staged an uprising at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in North Carolina today with two guards held captive during the hours-long siege

There was chaos at a jail in North Carolina today as prisoners overpowered correctional staff and took over parts of the facility.

Three guards and 88 inmates were inside the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor when the takeover began at about 5am, prompting an immediate response from local, state and federal authorities, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Inmates took two guards captive and the third guard escaped. Negotiations led to the release of the two guards along with 80 inmates, leaving only eight inmates inside, Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said.

The prison siege last for hours, but finally came to an end when law enforcement officers entered the facility and seized control.

By early afternoon, the Bureau of Investigation and the FBI had “cleared the facility”, the state bureau said. “All inmates and staff are safe and accounted for, and those who sustained injuries have received treatment.”

The facility will remain secured while the damage is assessed, and inmates have been transferred to other facilities, the Bureau of Investigation said. Windsor is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of the city of Raleigh.

Ruffin said the two guards who were released are undergoing medical treatment but he had no details about their injuries. There was no threat to the general public, Ruffin added.

Authorities have not addressed why there were only three guards overseeing the jail at the time of the takeover. Ruffin did not indicate what caused the takeover either.

“Right now we have a lot going on that we’re trying to get under control,” he said. “I will release that information to the public as soon as I can.”