By C1 Staff
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Approximately 24 juvenile offenders rioted and broke out of the Woodland Hills Youth Development Center late Wednesday night.
WSMV reports that the Department of Children’s Services reported the incident started before midnight during a shift change when 10 teens were able to kick out doors and get outside.
They then allegedly threw rocks and sticks at corrections officers. Using fire extinguishers, they smashed windows and aided others in escaping their rooms.
The riot went on for at last two hours, and the DOC required assistance from the Tennessee Highway Patrol to break it up.
Those who made it outside did not make it past a perimeter gate. The 10 accused of starting the riot were put in handcuffs and taken by bus to the Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center in Columbia.
This is the same facility where 32 teenagers escaped on Monday night during a shift change. Officials said the teens escaped from their doors on Thursday the same way they did on Monday. Jail staff had tried to fix the doors since Monday’s escape but that fix did not work.
Some officers sustained minor injuries during the riot. The facility is short 14 staff members, and is run by DCS and not the DOC, which DCS Commissioner Jim Henry says needs to change.
“It’s gotten worse because of drugs; it’s gotten worse because the kids are tougher; it’s gotten worse because we’re looking at antiquated laws where we can’t lock people up at night, so we’ve got to change those,” he said.