The chaos came just days after another youth development specialist had his teeth knocked out in another spasm of violence at Crossroads, in Brooklyn. When other guards intervened, they were savagely beaten, one sustaining injuries that required stitches. They threw a blanket over one guard and violently pummelled him with the converted mop handles. They accessed equipment and unscrewed the mop heads off the long handles, converting them into weapons.

They used the keys to access a supply closet.

Once out, the youths attacked the youth development specialists - the formal name for the staff that guard the facility and the youth. Once he removed the hinges, he was able to knock down the door and free another five detained youths. One of the youth was able to hide a tool in his room and strip the hinge off his door over the course of a week, sources said, who asked to remain anonymous due to their jobs. The mayhem broke out just days after current and former guards at the facility voiced serious concerns that conditions at the facility - created by a haphazard makeshift policy in response to the pandemic - were desperate and dangerous, a product of what they said was a misguided and ill-conceived plan to deal with the coronavirus crisis consuming the city. NEW YORK - Nearly 50 New York Police Department officers were called to help put down a violent, bloody riot that broke out at Crossroads Juvenile Center Sunday night when youth in detention managed to break out of their cells, access a supply room, turn mops into weapons and beat several guards, one so badly they needed stitches.

Crossroads by J.J. Bonds