Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey remained on lockdown Saturday in the aftermath of a riot that broke out after some detainees breached their units and attempted to escape by scaling the perimeter walls of the 66-year-old facility, officials said.
The rampage occurred about 8 p.m. Friday, according to Los Angeles County Probation Department officials, who managed to quell the disturbance several hours later with assistance from law enforcement officers — many of them in riot gear — and emergency responders from across the region. A sheriff’s helicopter provided aerial support.
One youth was able to escape the facility grounds, but was apprehended nearby a short time later, officials said.
No serious injuries among youths or staff were reported, officials said.
In the aftermath, investigators were trying to pinpoint the cause of the rioting at the Downey facility that has been mired in scandal, health and safety violations for more than three decades.
“It is my understanding that all the youth have been accounted for,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a written statement.
“I expect our interim Chief Probation Officer to get to the bottom of what went wrong,” she added, “and make assurances to the Board of Supervisors and the City of Downey that this is not going to happen again.”
Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall closed in 2019, two months after prosecutors charged six officers who worked there with assault in the dousing of teenage girls with pepper spray.
This month, the Probation Department moved about 270 juveniles held in Central Juvenile Hall in downtown Los Angeles and Barry J. Nidorf Hall in Sylmar to Los Padrinos, as the troubled agency tries to right itself after years of disarray.
Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this story.