Cabarrus juvenile detention center employee attacked, locked in room by inmates
Two juveniles assaulted an employee at a Cabarrus County detention center, stole his keys and trapped him in a room before releasing other inmates, state officials confirmed.
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The Oct. 10 attack happened around 3:49 p.m. in a unit that houses juveniles younger than 18 who face adult criminal charges. The juveniles also destroyed the employee’s radio before using his keys to unlock other rooms, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Several of the released juveniles began fighting. Other employees arrived and brought the disturbance under control about nine minutes after it began, officials said. The incident was confined to one unit of the Cabarrus Juvenile Detention Center in Concord.
The detention center has struggled with employee shortages for years, and state officials acknowledged that several workers had called out on the day of the latest attack. In 2024, juveniles at the same facility overpowered an employee, stole his keys and took control of a housing unit.
The injured employee received additional medical attention after the assault, though DPS did not specify the extent of his injuries. All juveniles involved were evaluated, but none needed treatment outside the facility.
DPS did not say how many employees were working in the unit when the assault occurred or whether the injured employee had been left alone with the juveniles.
In February 2024, a juvenile at the Cabarrus juvenile justice complex attacked an employee who was distributing hygiene supplies and took the employee’s keys, according to WSOC-TV.
The attackers used the keys to help several other juveniles leave their rooms. Five youths subsequently gained control of a housing pod and used damaged equipment and restraints as makeshift weapons, according to the station’s reporting.
The disturbance lasted roughly 35 to 40 minutes and prompted a response from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office and Concord police. The employee was not injured.
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Later that month, an employee spoke anonymously with WSOC-TV about conditions at the complex, describing concerns about overcrowding, inadequate staffing and employees’ ability to manage multiple violent juveniles at once. The employee warned that the conditions could lead to someone being seriously hurt or juveniles gaining control of the facility.
Those staffing challenges have persisted.
In January, North Carolina Health News reported that roughly 40% of positions at the Cabarrus detention center were vacant. The facility also houses many juveniles from Mecklenburg County, which has lacked its own juvenile detention center since Sheriff Garry McFadden closed Jail North in 2022.
The Cabarrus facility has faced scrutiny over its treatment of detained juveniles, too.
A federal lawsuit filed in 2024 alleged that three teenagers were regularly kept in their rooms for nearly the entire day. State officials rejected allegations that routine solitary confinement was occurring but acknowledged that employee shortages had limited opportunities for juveniles to leave their rooms.
Following the Oct. 10 assault, the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention said it reviewed what happened and developed measures intended to address vulnerabilities exposed by the incident.
“This incident has been fully debriefed and analyzed to identify possible security weaknesses during the event, and an action plan has been put in place to prevent future incidents,” the department said in a statement.
Officials declined to elaborate on the changes, saying that releasing details could compromise security procedures.
The department has not said whether staffing shortages contributed to the assault or whether any employees or juveniles face disciplinary consequences.
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