Four teenagers who fled a juvenile detention center in Pennsylvania following a riot at the facility Sunday evening have been captured, while five remain at large Monday morning, according to state police.
They were captured about 2.5 miles away from Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, according to David Beohm, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police troop in Reading.
The juvenile facility is about 15 miles west of South Coventry Township, where escaped murder convict Danilo Cavalcante was captured on Wednesday after nearly two weeks on the run.
“We’re asking the people in this area again, kind of like we did two weeks ago, lock everything up, take your keys out of your car, be vigilant,” Beohm said Monday morning.
State and local law enforcement responded to Abraxas Academy and took “back control of the juvenile detention center,” the Caernarvon Township Police Department said in a statement.
Authorities are searching for remaining five teens, all between the ages of 15 to 17 and dressed in grey.
“Two of the boys are wearing like a gray sweatpants and all of them have then either shorts or a shirt that is gray,” Beohm said Monday before four of the teens were captured. “And they all should have black slides because we have recovered a slide from one of the searches with the K9.”
Police said they would approach the teens as if they were armed and advised the public to do the same.
“They were not armed when they left, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have found something,” Beohm said.
“If you see anything that remotely looks goofy, weird, makes the hair in the back of your neck stand up, call 911. Don’t delay it for a second,” he added.
The nearby Twin Valley School District announced it would be closed Monday “out of an abundance of caution.”
The teens managed to escape by overpowering two prison employees, Beohm said.
“So they were able to get the keys and then they were able to get out the side door, or one of the doors,” Beohm added.
He said the escapees likely got through the fence of the facility by going under it.
The escapees attempted to break into a car sometime around midnight to 1 a.m., Beohm said.
“I don’t know what alerted the homeowners, but they broke the window of the car, lights came on, and then they took off,” he said. It’s unclear how far the location of the attempted car break-in is from the facility.
Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for the escaped offenders and have established a perimeter around the facility, Beohm said Sunday night. Weather prevented a helicopter from aiding in the search overnight, but authorities had drones up in the area, he sad Monday.
State police are working with Caernarvon authorities “to resolve the matter,” the statement said.
Abraxas Academy is a “secure residential treatment program” that provides “specialized care for delinquent male youth between the ages of 14 to 18 in 9th grade or above,” according to the facility’s website.
“Treatment at the Academy is for youth who demonstrate a consistent display of delinquent patterns through multiple placements, serious charges, and problematic behaviors. Youth are admitted to the Academy for either habitual offending behaviors or for a history of sexual offending behavior,” the website reads.
CNN has reached out to Abraxas Academy and the Berks County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
CNN’s Michelle Watson and Lechelle Benken contributed to this report.
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