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Teen breaks ankles, spine while trying to escape from St. Louis juvenile detention center

Police sources say the teen jumped from a third story window after breaking it

ST. LOUIS — An 18-year-old broke both of his ankles and fractured his spine after jumping out of a third story window at the Juvenile Detention Center along Hogan Street Wednesday, according to police sources.

Police were called to the facility at 8:14 p.m. Wednesday after the teen broke a window and jumped, the sources said.

He was taken to a hospital where he was listed in stable condition, according to the sources.

The incident is just the latest in a series of escapes, or attempted escapes, from juvenile detention centers in the city.

The teen involved in Wednesday’s incident at the Hogan Street location – which is run by the state – was being held on charges of tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and a previous escape from confinement, according to the sources.

Officers reviewed surveillance footage and saw him slide between some wardrobes and the windows on the third floor of the building. When staff left the room, he pushed the wardrobes away from the windows and used a drawer to shatter a window. He then climbed on top of an HVAC unit and kicked the screen, according to the sources.

Staff members then came back into the room and told him not to jump, but he did and fell three stories onto the pavement below, according to the sources.

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