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Teens Escape From Nashville Detention Center

Teens Escape From Nashville Detention Center
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By The Associated Press
Sep. 02, 2014 | NASHVILLE, TN
By The Associated Press Sep. 02, 2014 | 05:38 AM | NASHVILLE, TN
AFTERNOON UPDATE: Officials say 32 teens escaped from a Nashville youth detention center by crawling under a fence late Monday, and 9 of them are still on the run.
 
Department of Children's Services spokesman Rob Johnson says the teens - ages 14 to 19 - left their rooms and went into a common area, where they overwhelmed 16 to 18 staff members and kicked out a metal panel under a window to get out of the building and into a yard. Once in the yard, the teens realized they could lift part of the fence surrounding it and get out.
 
Two teens were captured immediately and others were found overnight. Local police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol were still searching for 10 from the group Tuesday morning.
 
Johnson says the state-owned center in northwest Nashville held 78 teens at the time of the escape, and most had committed at least three felonies.


ORIGINAL STORY:
More than 30 teens escaped from a Nashville youth detention center and 17 were still being sought early Tuesday, a spokesman said.

Thirty-two teens — ages 14 to 19 — escaped from Woodland Hills Youth Development Center around 11 p.m. Monday by crawling under a weak spot in a fence that surrounded a yard there, Tennessee Department of Children's Services spokesman Rob Johnson said.

Two teens were recaptured right away and others were found overnight, Johnson said. Local police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are taking part in the search for the teens still at large.

The teens being kept at the detention center have committed at least three felonies, Johnson said.

The escape happened when a large group of teens at the center went out into the yard all at once shortly after a shift change, Johnson said. He said he didn't know if the escape was planned or spontaneous. A total of 78 teens were being held at the center at the time, Johnson said.

Johnson said the detention center was calm and back under control Tuesday morning.


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