A group of Missouri inmates staged an uprising at the St. Louis City Justice Center on Sunday, escaping their cells and causing chaos for the second time in less than two months.
Inmates in at least two areas of the downtown jail broke windows, threw furniture, a computer, toilet paper, clothes, and debris to the street, and started a fire on the exterior of the building. Some yelled at the 50 to 75 demonstrators outside the jail who were protesting poor conditions at the jail, and others demanded a set date for their court dates delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Roughly 60 inmates escaped their cells, and a couple of the inmates were reportedly injured, according to St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts. Staff were not believed to be injured, KMOV 4 reported.
The riot lasted from about 8:45 p.m. to around 10:15 p.m. when deputies were able to control the situation. However, shortly after 10:30 p.m., detainees began breaking windows again on the other side of the building.
Spectators, many who claimed to be friends and families of the inmates, cheered as the detainees again began throwing objects to the street, and lowered a rope made of bedsheets tied together out of a window, according to a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The second round of activity was cut short in about half an hour, as many inmates had a hard time dealing with mace sprayed by deputies to contain the protest.
The uprising comes shortly after a similar incident in February, when more than 100 inmates at the Justice Center escaped their cells, smashed windows, set fires, and tossed objects to the ground. A corrections officer was sent to the hospital at the time.
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The activities also come on the heels of the St. Louis mayoral race on Tuesday. Several candidates spoke out on the Sunday night events, calling for better leadership of the city’s public safety and reform of its justice system.
The Washington Examiner contacted Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office for comment and did not immediately hear back.
