Nine teenagers have escaped from a juvenile detention facility in Pennsylvania after a riot broke out at the center, police said Sunday night, nearly a week after convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante was recaptured in the state following a two-week manhunt after he “crab-walked” out of a nearby prison.
Nine teens have escaped from Pennsylvania's Abraxas Academy.
The juvenile offenders fled from the Abraxas Academy in Pennsylvania and are currently on the run, the Caernarvon Township Police Department said in a statement.
The escape followed a riot at the facility on Sunday, police said, adding that state and local law enforcement are on site and “have taken back control” of the center.
Abraxas is a “secure residential treatment program [that]
provides specialized care for delinquent male youth between the ages of 14 to 18 in 9th grade or above,” according to the center’s website, with youth admitted for “either habitual offending behaviors or for a history of sexual offending behavior.”The escapees should be wearing white or grey t-shirts and grey shorts, Caernarvon police said.
The Caernarvon force said they are working with State Police to resolve the matter and urged anyone encountering the teens to “call 911 immediately.”
Details on the riot and whether anyone was hurt are not yet known, nor are there details of the escaped juveniles.
It’s possible local schools and other facilities will close on account of the escape. The Twin Valley School District, reportedly a few miles from the Abraxas facility, said all schools and offices in the district will be shut on Monday, according to the group’s Facebook page. The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
News of the escaped juveniles comes less than a week after officials apprehended Cavalcante following a two-week search. The Berks County where the search for the teens is underway borders Chester County, where the hunt for Cavalcante took place. The search involved local, state and federal agencies and came after he managed to “crab walk” over a wall and out of prison.
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