Inmates take control of a North Carolina jail after overpowering correctional staff

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WINDSOR, N.C. (AP) — Inmates seized control of parts of a regional jail in eastern North Carolina on Monday after overpowering correctional staff, authorities said.

Three guards and 88 inmates were inside the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor when the takeover began at about 5 a.m., prompting an immediate response from local, state and federal authorities, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement posted on social media.

There was no immediate threat to the general public, Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said in the statement. Windsor is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Raleigh.

Inmates took two guards captive and the third guard escaped. Negotiations led to the release of the two guards along with 80 inmates, leaving only eight inmates inside, Ruffin said later at a news conference. By early afternoon, the Bureau of Investigation had entered the facility and was working to take the remaining inmates into custody, Ruffin said.

Ruffin said without elaborating that the inmates who were released were taken to a “secure place.” He said the two guards who were released are undergoing medical treatment but he had no details about their injuries.

Authorities also did not address why there were only three guards overseeing the entire jail population at the time.

A secure perimeter was established around the detention center and the public was asked to avoid the immediate area, Ruffin said. More than 20 law enforcement agencies responded to the scene.

Ruffin did not indicate what caused the takeover.

“Right now we have a lot going on that we're trying to get under control," he said. "I will release that information to the public as soon as I can.”