UPDATE - 4:20 p.m. Wednesday
LYNCHBURG, Va. - We’re learning more about what happened at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center after some incarcerated individuals took over part of the jail for several hours.
Investigators said more than 60 people in a maximum-security unit forced officers out, barricading themselves in a housing unit and after more than 14 hours of negotiations, the people came out on their own.
Investigators will have to relocate the tose who destroyed the housing unit, as well as other equipment and security cameras, amidst the chaos.
The unit has about 48 cells and there’s no word on when they’ll be fixed. The jail is closed to visitors as investigators try to figure out what led to this.
“Our staffing last night during this incident was adequate,” explained Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority Administrator Josh Salmon. “This incident did not occur due to a lack of staffing.”
Investigators said they’re talking with people in the jail to see if there’s anything they could have done to have prevented this.
10 News asked about the negotiation tactics used, as well as if there is video from inside the jail; however, investigators said they could not share that information.
“It was a period of many hours that obviously it took to bring this to conclusion,” said Lynchburg Police Chief Ryan Zuidema. “Our goal again, from the beginning, was the safety of the inmates and the safety of the correctional officers. If that took hours or even days to accomplish, we were going to make sure we took the time to do that.”
The people in jail didn’t make any demands or have any hostages.
While it took quite a bit of time to resolve the situation, investigators are just glad they were able to do so peacefully.
“I’m incredibly proud of the law enforcement officers and everyone that was involved in this incident last night,” Chief Zuidema says.
Investigators said there was never a danger to anyone in the area and no one was hurt.
UPDATE - 8:15 a.m. Wednesday
The barricade situation at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center has been resolved after more than 12 hours, according to police.
Authorities said everything was resolved without incident.
Officials are expected to hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. with further information.
UPDATE - 6:30 a.m. Wednesday
As of 6:30 a.m., authorities said they are still working to regain control.
According to Lynchburg Police, there are no injuries and no hostages as of Wednesday morning.
Below is a list of street closures in downtown Lynchburg:
- 8th and Clay Street
- 8th and Madison
- 11th and Clay
- 11th and Madison
- 10th and Clay
ORIGINAL STORY
Police are currently working to control an incident at Lynchburg Adult Detention Center Tuesday night.
Shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Lynchburg Police Department said incarcerated individuals gained control of a housing area and forced correctional officers assigned to that unit out of the building near 9th Street where the jail is located.
The department’s crisis negotiations team and hostage rescue came out to try to gain control of the situation, authorities say.
As of midnight, there are no injuries to any officers or incarcerated people. Authorities also said no demands or hostages have been made at this time.
Stay with 10 News for this breaking story.