NYPD probes how weapons got inside Bronx juvenile detention center before violent clash

Police are investigating how weapons got inside a Bronx juvenile detention center where at least a dozen people were injured in a violent brawl between teens and staff. 

Officials said Monday 15 people were taken to the hospital after residents of the Horizon Juvenile Center, which houses young offenders, armed themselves with contraband and makeshift knives as chaos erupted Sunday.  

"An all out riot" 

Darik Robinson, once a tour commander at the Administration for Children's Services' Mott Haven facility, now represents Horizon's staff, including many of the youth developmental specialists who were attacked. 

"I'm witnessing, on camera, the kids assaulting staff, hitting staff with walkie-talkies," said Robinson, vice president of SSEU Local 371. "All-out riot ... [The kids] took the keys from the staff. They burst out of the dormitory areas, went to other dormitories to attack other kids." 

Video shows one staff member with a bloody mouth getting into an ambulance. The total injured included officers, specialists and teens, officials said. 

"Gang rivalry, that's the number one issue in there," Robinson said.  

A facility staff member said there were no Father's Day programs for the young residents and their emotions may have boiled over into violence.   

Staff express safety concerns

Robinson said more needs to be done to keep the facility's residents and staff safe. He said the facility has metal detectors but is overcrowded and understaffed. 

"There was one staff in the hall with 20 kids," he said. "You have additional kids sleeping on what they call boats. Those boats are extremely heavy. And when they put them in the boats, they give them a little makeshift area where they can put their stuff in. The kids are breaking these makeshift areas and turning them into weapons." 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office said in a statement the administration "has added additional staff members to ensure there is accountability and corrective action going forward." 

The Administration for Children's Services said the facility is secure and the situation resolved.