Massive, bloody riot at NYC youth facility exposes chaos at juvenile detention centers

It was a ticking timebomb.A massive riot at an overcrowded Bronx juvenile detention center left more than a dozen staffers and youths injured — and exposed ongoing problems at Big Apple youth facilities, The Post has learned.The NYPD was twice turned away at the door by staffers at the Horizons Juvenile Center during the outbreak on June 21, allowing both employees and facility residents to be slashed and beaten for hours before the melee was brought under control, sources and union officials said.

The violent outburst comes after years of warnings from critics that soft-on-crime state laws had turned the Big Apple’s youth detention facilities into a powder keg.“The melee started at 4:49 p.m.when one unit was being escorted back to their unit from the courtyard,” according to one source.

“Three other units — one was already opened without clearance — heard them in the hallway.Staff were assaulted and keys taken, and residents of these units ran out and started attacking each other and also staff members.“One staff member was pushed up against a glass area with a knife held to her face,” the source said.

“Another on the floor had an asthma attack with residents taunting her that she’s going to die.”New York’s Finest were dispatched to the troubled facility at 5:25 p.m.and 11:30 p.m.

to quell the unrest — but staffers from the city Administration for Children’s Services locked them out both times, allowing the violence to continue, union officials confirmed.“The injuries sustained by staff included dislocated shoulders, head trauma, neck injuries, back injuries, knee injuries and deep lacerations requiring stitches,” said Darek Robinson, vice president of grievance and legal services for Local 371 of the Social Service Employees Union .“This incident did not occur without warning,” he said in a statement.“For several weeks leading up to the riot, there were multiple assaults on supervisors and staff involving attempts by re...