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October 25, 2022Teens armed with makeshift weapons take over Ohio youth prison school for 12 hours, officials say
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A dozen teenagers took over a school building at an Ohio youth prison for 12 hours, arming themselves with makeshift weapons from the shop classroom.
The standoff at Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon, Ohio, ended shortly after midnight Sunday when officers pepper-sprayed the youths, ages 15 to 19, Ohio Department of Youth Services Director Amy Ast said in an online press conference.
Six young men are in the Stark County Jail while six younger teens are in Ohio Department of Youth Services custody, Ast said.
Ast said the cost of the damage as well as an estimate on when the school will reopen have yet to be determined.
The correctional facility has been the focal point of disturbances and staff assaults in recent weeks. The Ohio Department of Youth Services has been grappling with violent incidents, high job vacancy rates and other problems.
In the past 10 months, juvenile center superintendents and deputy superintendents have resigned or been demoted. Managers who held top posts, including the medical services director, chief finance officer, school superintendent and behavioral health director, have resigned. Overall, the department has a 13% job vacancy rate, which means guards are faced with mandatory overtime and back-to-back shifts.
In addition to the standoff this weekend, youths took over a housing unit the weekend of Oct. 8 and assaulted multiple staff members this past week. Ast acknowledged that another staff member was assaulted and treated and released from an area hospital at the same time the standoff was occurring.
Indian River staff were assisted by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and local law enforcement, Ast said.
Ast said Ohio DRC has agreed to provide body cameras to youth prison guards at Indian River. Earlier this year, Ohio’s adult prison system put body cameras on its guards and parole officers in one of the largest such use of cameras in any prison system in the world.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Teens take over Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Ohio
