From Staff Reports

SWANNANOA ó Three staff members of the Swannanoa Youth Development Center were treated for injuries last Friday after a brawl broke out at the prison, involving 11 inmates.

Officials said the injuries were relatively minor and that all three employees were treated and released from Mission Hospitals the same day.

The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reportedly would not release information about the extent of injuries incurred by inmates or details of the violence.

The prison holds about 40 male inmates and has had a number of escapes, violent altercations and other incidents recently.
A teacher suffered brain damage from an assault by one of the prisoners there a year ago.

The state increased the police force at the prison from one to seven after concerns were expressed by several lawmakers in the wake of that attack.

In June, another attack on staff put the center on lockdown and less than two weeks ago, two inmates escaped and were caught a week later in Duplin County in eastern North Carolina.

That escape was the third this year for the prison.

In last Fridayís brawl, staff used pepper spray to bring the situation under control, officials said.

One of the staff members injuried was reportedly sprayed by pepper spray accidentally while trying to break up the fight.
In the wake of the incident, all prisoners were confined to their rooms for the weekend.

Buncombe County District Attorney, a longtime critic of the stateís juvenile justice system, said that it is important to notify the public about disturbances at youth prisons.

He noted that in the past, the juvenile justice system typically has been reluctant to release any information to the public, including information about escaped convicts.