500 inmates evacuated from Neuse Correctional Institution after 2 injured

Due to damage inside some sections of the facility, approximately 500 inmates were transferred to other prisons across the state. 288 inmates remain at the facility.

Authorities said that one staff member was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries while an inmate who received non-life threatening injuries was treated and released.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety said a disturbance was started by a small group of inmates at about 4:30 p.m. and inmates set two separate fires that had since been extinguished. The fires damaged parts of the prison's diagnostic building and a storage shed that held supplies. The inmates also broke windows and damaged four dorms.

The Prison Emergency Response team, Goldsboro Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Johnston County Sheriff's Office, State Highway Patrol, and probation officers responded to the incident along with two SWAT teams and two K9 units. It took hours to get the situation under control, authorities said.

An investigation into the cause of the disturbance is underway and the prison will remain on lockdown until further notice, authorities said.

Tom Effler with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said that the public is not in danger.