9 teens captured after breaking out of Pennsylvania detention center. How did they escape?
Police in Pennsylvania captured nine teenage boys who escaped from a detention center after a "riot" broke out on Sunday night, authorities said Monday morning.
The nine juveniles escaped from Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, around 8 p.m. when a "riot" unfolded at the facility, according to Pennsylvania State Police and the Caernarvon Township Police Department.
State and local police responded to the incident and were able to take "back control of the juvenile detention center," but some of the juveniles were able to flee the facility, police said.
Four of the escapees were taken into custody about 5 miles away from the facility around 5:45 a.m. on Monday morning, state police said.
The first four boys who were captured banged on the door of a home to surrender, Pennsylvania State Trooper David Beohm said during a press conference on Monday morning, according to NBC Philadelphia.
"They were done, they were tired, they were cold," Beohm said.
Around 6:35 a.m., police responded to a report of a stolen pickup truck and trailer, Beohm said.
Police began a pursuit of the vehicle before pulling it over, where four more escapees were captured, Beohm said. A fifth boy attempted to flee the scene, but was apprehended a short time later, Beohm said.
"They are all going to be charged with escape," Beohm said, adding the boys in the truck will also likely be charged with theft.
How did the teens escape?
Troopers were called to Abraxas Academy Sunday night to help "quell the uprising and help get the kids back into their rooms," Beohm said.
Authorities then learned that the nine boys, all between the ages of 15 and 17, managed to escape, Beohm said.
"These nine kids all kind of banded together, they overtook two female staff to get the keys so they could get out of the door," Beohm said.
The boys were then able to make their way out of the facility through "a weak point in the fencing," Beohm said.
Police set up a perimeter around the facility, and Twin Valley School District schools were closed on Monday "out of an abundance of caution" as the manhunt unfolded.
Abraxas Academy is described on the Abraxas Youth & Family Services website as providing specialized care for "delinquent male youth."
"Treatment at the Academy is for youth who demonstrate a consistent display of delinquent patterns through multiple placements, serious charges, and problematic behaviors," the website said. "Youth are admitted to the Academy for either habitual offending behaviors or for a history of sexual offending behavior,” the website states."
Abraxas Academy is about 15 miles away west of South Coventry Township, where convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante was captured on Wednesday after he escaped from a Pennsylvania prison on Aug. 31, leading to a nearly two-week long manhunt.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
