Two employees of a North Carolina prison were killed during an attempted escape Thursday afternoon.
Public Safety officials in the state say multiple fires were set at the prison sewing plant at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution at around 3:30 p.m.. An emergency management spokesman for North Carolina told Reuters that the attempt by a group of inmates killed two employees.
There were reports of 10 injuries; it wasn’t clear whether the two casualties were part of the number.
The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office told WAVY News they were responding to the “possible escape of prisoners.”
The prison was on lockdown and officials said “members of the DPS Prison Emergency Response Team, consisting of officers from other facilities” are assisting with the situation.
A spokesperson from Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City told local news they treated six people from the prison.
Both the county’s sheriff’s department and the State Bureau of Investigation are looking into the incident.
Pasquotank CI is a facility for male inmates that’s located in Elizabeth City in Pasquotank County. In a statement, officials said there are about 30 inmates who work at the sewing plant, which is run by Correction Enterprises. There are 725 inmates currently in the prison in close, medium and minimum security.