BELL COUNTY, Texas — Two minors attempted to escape Bell County Juvenile Detention Center on Thursday morning.
Killeen Police Department, Bell County Sheriff's Office and Texas Department of Public Safety officials brought the minors back into custody by 2:10 p.m., per a release.
“This was obviously an unfortunate situation, but, based on our initial investigation, it appears that all of our staff responded according to policy,” Dawn Owens, the county’s Chief Juvenile Probation Officer said. “We are very grateful for the work of those partner agencies in locating and apprehending the two residents as quickly as they did.”
At 11:20 a.m., a facility officer saw the minors climbing the fence where they briefly escaped.
The Juvenile Center staff were able to alert the Killeen Police Department within seconds after the minors climbed over the walls. Law enforcement quickly began searching the area, deploying a helicopter and K9 units. The Juvenile Center was placed on lockdown immediately after the escape, restricting minors to their cells.
“As will any critical incident, we will be reviewing this event over the coming days to evaluate our response and assess our training practices to ensure the health and safety of all our staff and residents moving forward,” Owens said.
Bell County Juvenile Services reported the incident to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department per state requirements.