An incident broke out at the Department of Juvenile Justice (DDJ) on Tuesday morning in South Carolina, following which agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were deployed at the site. 

Joe Cashion, a spokesperson from the DDJ, told the press that the incident began at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday. One staff member has been injured in the incident, according to reports coming out of the facility. However, it is confirmed that the injury is not severe.

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Cashion has also confirmed that all the students and staff members in the facility have been accounted for since the incident broke out, and no one sustained injury. 

The ABC has reported that law enforcement agencies managed to bring the incident under control and the scene is secure, as of 11 p.m. local time.  

Executive Director of the facility Eden Hendrick said that the incident involved a number of youth students who were ‘out of place’ for a period on campus and went on to assault the staff member. According to her, they picked up hammers from somewhere and damaged several cars and property.

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The school authorities called the South Carolina Law Enforcement division to the scene following the incident.

“SLED is currently conducting interviews and is leading the investigation into this incident,” she added.

Hendrick informed state lawmakers earlier this month that as of October 5, the Broad River Road site had a 52 percent vacancy rate and had 176 open positions across the whole agency.

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Nearly a year had passed since the former director’s resignation in response to complaints from several employees who said they had to work 24-hour shifts and were concerned for their safety. Hendricks made his appearance before the Senate at that point.

A $20 million bond for a new mental health centre for DJJ youth was approved by lawmakers in August.