U.S. authorities seize back control of jail after inmates took it over, taking guards captive

The scene of a jail takeover at Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in in Windsor, N.C., Monday, June 29, 2026.

WINDSOR, N.C. — Inmates overpowered correctional staff and took over parts of a jail in eastern North Carolina early Monday, but the siege ended hours later when law enforcement officers entered the facility and seized control.

Three guards and 88 inmates were inside the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor, N.C., when the takeover began at about 5 a.m., prompting an immediate response from local, state and federal authorities, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement posted on social media.

By early afternoon, the Bureau of Investigation and the FBI had “cleared the facility,” the state bureau said in a statement. ”All inmates and staff are safe and accounted for, and those who sustained injuries have received treatment.”

The facility will remain secured while the damage is assessed, and inmates have been transferred to other facilities, the Bureau of Investigation said. Windsor is about 120 miles (190 kilometres) east of Raleigh.

Inmates took two guards captive and the third guard escaped. Negotiations led to the release of the two guards along with 80 inmates, leaving only eight inmates inside, Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said at a news conference.

Ruffin said the two guards who were released are undergoing medical treatment but he had no details about their injuries.

There was no threat to the general public, Ruffin said in a statement.

Authorities have not addressed why there were only three guards overseeing the jail at the time of the takeover.

Ruffin did not indicate what caused the takeover.

“Right now we have a lot going on that we’re trying to get under control,” he said. ”I will release that information to the public as soon as I can.”

The Associated Press