ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – At least 14 people were injured during an attempted prison break at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution Thursday afternoon, officials confirm.
Officials with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a tweet there was an attempted escape and fires set at the prison.
Jerry Higgins, spokesperson with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, told WAVY-TV several inmates tried to escape from the prison, and employees were injured.
Several fires were set in the institution’s sewing plant, but Higgins says the fires have since been extinguished. The prison has been placed on lockdown.
Sentara Healthcare says nine patients have been received at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, two of which are being transferred to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Sentara Norfolk is also expecting five additional patients.
The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office says they were called to the prison was just after 3 p.m. Elizabeth City fire crews and EMS responded to the prison, along with local police officers and sheriff’s office deputies.
There were 729 inmates at the prison Thursday.
