ST. LOUIS — "I'm really mad," said Danielle Lewis.
Lewis is furious because she said early Saturday morning her son, 24-year-old Zachary Kearnes, called her in a panic. He's been detained at the City Justice Center since December.
"He called me crying and really upset," said Lewis.
Kearnes told his mom he suffered severe injuries after several detainees at the downtown jail got in his cell overnight and attacked him.
"He said his head is swollen. He can't see out of his eyes. His teeth have been knocked out on the side of his mouth and he's got a bunch of golf ball-sized knots all on his head," said Lewis.
In an emailed statement, city officials said about a dozen detainees on the fourth floor beat and kicked four others while on recreation time at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
"Corrections officers extracted the targets of the attacks from the unit and de-escalated the situation using OC spray," mayor's office spokesman Nick Dunne said in the email statement Saturday.
Officials said the victims were taken to a hospital.
Detainees seen on surveillance video who sparked the disturbance were transported to the CJC Annex, which is the former Workhouse.
"I just don't think it's right," added Lewis.
Saturday's disturbance inside the jail was the sixth since December.
In January, a riot took place on the fourth floor, which housed mostly federal detainees.
In February, one guard was injured when detainees broke several windows, chanted, set fires and threw furniture and other items to the sidewalk below. That incident went on for four hours.
There was another riot in April and two more disturbances last month.
On Saturday, no one from city hall would go on camera and talk to 5 On Your Side about the latest incident. A Spokesman for Mayor Tishaura Jones sent us a statement.
The statement says, "the City is committed to remaining transparent around the status of CJC and to advocate for a fair and speedy trial for pre-trial detainees as well as restorative justice to reduce recidivism among returning citizens, who have served their time."
Lewis said her bruised and battered son is back at the downtown jail.
"Whoever allowed this to happen should be held accountable. This isn't the first time he's been jumped on. He was jumped on in the shower once before. I'm afraid something's gonna happen to him and I'm not gonna see my son again," Lewis said.
So, what's the city's response to the mom's claims?
In a statement, Dunne said, "we take the safety of our detainees seriously and are reviewing the surveillance footage."