Two teenagers suspected of murder escaped a youth jail in Louisiana on Saturday, one of whom previously escaped from the same jail less than two weeks ago.
The 17-year-olds, both accused of first-degree murder, fled from the East Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to Baton Rouge Police. It’s not clear how the boys escaped at this time.
One of the teens previously escaped the detention center with a different detainee on Nov. 13, but both were apprehended less than 24 hours later. They fled when guards were putting people back in their cells after a fight broke out in the facility, according to local newspaper The Advocate.
The East Baton Rouge juvenile facility has been the target of criticism because of repeated escapes and violent episodes, The Advocate said.
In 2021, five prisoners escaped after attacking a staffer, taking her keys and locking her inside a cell without a radio. Some of them also attacked staffers with makeshift knives. In February 2022, a fight involving eight teens left three of them injured.
East Baton Rouge Parish set aside $2 million for security upgrades. After the escape in earlier November, parish officials said those upgrades were still in the planning and design phase.
