Laura A. Bischoff and Amy L. Knapp
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Teenagers who took over an Ohio juvenile prison school building last weekend used an unsecured state computer to broadcast the standoff to more than 7,000 viewers on Facebook.
The footage, posted under the name Topp Hotboii, shows the teens heaving a small refrigerator through one of three broken windows, tipping over a desk and ripping out the drawers, dismantling other furniture and carrying power tools.
Footage shows the kids performing for the camera, talking with viewers, dancing and showing off muscles, and eating candy. Audio on the livestream is difficult to understand.
The standoff ended early Sunday morning after about 12 hours when a special team entered the school and used pepper spray to subdue the juveniles, ages 15 to 19. Six were taken to the Stark County Jail, while six of the younger teens remain in Ohio Department of Youth Services custody, according to Amy Ast, the department director.
Prison standoff:Teens armed with makeshift weapons take over Ohio youth prison school for 12 hours, officials say
There were no injuries. Damage estimates, as well as when the school may reopen, were not immediately available.
Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon 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 October, Indian River has experienced multiple assaults and disturbances, including:
- Oct. 8. Several juveniles took over the Bravo unit at Indian River for several hours and caused extensive damage but no injuries.
- Oct. 18. A guard suffered a broken jaw in an altercation with juveniles.
- Oct. 18. A youth knocked officer David Upshaw to the ground, beat him in the head with his radio and took his keys. Upshaw was hospitalized.
- Oct. 22. Separate from the school takeover, a guard was assaulted by a youth and treated and released from a local hospital.
Indian River employees say that they’re fed up and exhausted. High vacancy rates across the center and the department means they’re working 16-hour shifts multiple times a week.
Juveniles are coordinating attacks and disturbances and guards feel like they’re being second-guessed by managers, said Wilson Humphrey, a guard at Circleville JCF and an officer within the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
“We need more tools to deal with youth who have weapons, who become aggressive, violent or are extremely defiant toward institutional rules or instructions,” he said.