DURHAM, N.C. — Inmates at a jail in rural North Carolina took over parts of the facility early Monday, overpowering staff members and taking two guards hostage in a standoff that ended hours later, according to state and local officials.

The takeover began around 5 a.m. at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor, North Carolina, when there were 88 inmates and three guards inside, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

At some point, at least one inmate got access to keys that are used to unlock cell doors, said the county sheriff, Tyrone Ruffin.

The inmates then assaulted the guards, the state bureau said. One guard escaped, but the other two were taken hostage.

Guards Released

Around 9:30 a.m., the bureau said, negotiations led to the release of the two guards; 18 inmates were also taken in by authorities. Officials have not explained the nature of those negotiations. Details about the guards’ injuries have also not been released, but officials said they were receiving medical treatment.

By 2 p.m., the investigation bureau said it had accounted for all inmates and transferred them to other facilities for housing.

The agency added that the jail would remain “secured while personnel assess the extent of the damage.”

Ruffin said in an interview that he was not yet sure what incited the takeover or whether it was related to jail conditions. After his team gets the situation under control, he will “address the issues of the facilities and care of the inmates with the public as the investigation goes on,” he added.

FBI Joins Law Enforcement on the Scene

More than 20 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, were at the jail Monday afternoon.

Many North Carolina jails, including Bertie-Martin, have struggled with staffing shortages and overcrowded inmate populations in recent years.

A report from 2020 showed that the Windsor jail could hold up to 90 inmates but that it had exceeded that capacity “consistently over the past 5 years.”

Then last year, North Carolina passed a law that would keep more defendants behind bars before trial, among other things. Critics of the legislation — named after Iryna Zarutska, whose killing on a Charlotte train last year ignited right-wing condemnation — argued that it would exacerbate an already tenuous situation in jails across the state.

Most jails in North Carolina are run by a single sheriff, but the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center serves two counties and is overseen by commissioners appointed by both.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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By Eduardo Medina

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