More than 100 inmates took over a section of the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis in the middle of the night, injuring at least one correction officer in the melee.
According to NBC News, the take over began around 2:30 a.m. Saturday on the fourth floor of the facility, after an inmate and a guard, scuffled with one another and other inmates jumped the guard, authorities said.
A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson named Jacob Long confirmed to NBC News that police and firefighters were on the scene and areas surrounding the jail closed off to the public.
KSDK reported that the group of about 115 inmates broke windows and threw items out, and started a small fire inside the jail, Jacob Long said. They also flooded floors and clogged toilets, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Officers used tear gas to regain control, and Long confirmed that all the inmates were “back in custody” shortly before 10 a.m. this morning.
Inmates were seen holding signs in protest and chanting from windows. Furniture and other items were scattered across the street, and at least one car was left damaged with a shattered windshield, the outlet reported.
As of Friday, the Justice Center housed 633 inmates throughout the facility. Cops also confirmed to KSDK this morning that all of the inmates in the building are now secured inside.
