9 teens escape during riot at Pennsylvania juvenile detention center: police report

Nine teenagers have escaped from a juvenile detention center in Pennsylvania after a riot broke out at the facility, according to police.

The riot happened at Abraxas Academy in Morgantown at around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the Caernarvon Township Police Department said in a statement.

State and local law enforcement reported the nine offenders fled the facility after they had taken “back control of the juvenile detention center.”

“The escaped juveniles should be wearing gray pants or shorts and a gray shirt,” according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm.

State police shared they are working with Caernarvon authorities “to resolve the matter.”

A perimeter has been “established around Abraxas,” and law enforcement is asking the public to call 911 if they see someone matching the description of the teens on the run.

Police are searching the area with helicopters, drones, and K9 units.

There were reports of injuries to staff members of the Academy during the riot, according to ABC 6.

It is unknown how many juveniles were involved in the riot and the extent of the damage in the facility.

The Post reached out to the Pennsylvania State Police for comment.

The Academy is 14 miles west of where convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante was found in South Coventry Township on Wednesday after a lengthy two-week manhunt.

Abraxas Academy is described as a “multi-service facility” with a “secure” treatment program for “delinquent” males between the ages of “14 to 18 in 9th grade or above,” according to the facility’s website.

“Youth are admitted to the Academy for either habitual offending behaviors or for a history of sexual offending behavior,” its website reads.

This is the facility’s second riot in less than three months, according to WFMZ.

On the evening of July 4th, around 50 teens had started mayhem at the detention center and had broken a water pipe, fire alarms, and “video surveillance equipment,” Trooper Beohm told the outlet following the riot.

“You have some kids in there that are in there for some pretty serious stuff,” Beohm said.

It took around 40 law enforcement personnel from various police departments five hours to end the July anarchy and bring the facility back to order.

“I think it could’ve been much worse for both law enforcement and those kids,” stated Beohm following the Independence Day chaos.

Two juveniles suffered minor injuries, and one staff member suffered a concussion.

Tyler Ali, a 16-year-old resident at the Academy and main instigator of the mayhem, was charged as an adult for his role in the July riot, according to the outlet.

Ali was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, riot, disorderly conduct, and related offenses, according to Berks County District Attorney John Adams.

The Juvenile Center in Morgantown is about 49 miles northwest of Philadelphia.