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Elizabeth City jail remains on lockdown after escape attempt that killed 2

The Pasquotank Correctional Institution remained on lockdown Monday, four days after a botched inmate escape that resulted in the deaths of two employees.

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ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The Pasquotank Correctional Institution remained on lockdown Monday, four days after a botched inmate escape that resulted in the deaths of two employees.

Thursday afternoon, a fire was set in a Correction Enterprises sewing plant, but Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright said there was no riot during the attempted escape and nobody was taken hostage.

Correctional Officer Justin Smith, 35, who had worked at the jail since 2015, and Correction Enterprises site manager, Veronica Darden, 50, were killed in the attempted escape.

Ten other employees and four inmates were hurt during the incident. Corrections officer Wendy Shannon and maintenance engineer Geoffrey Howe and corrections officer George Midgett, remained at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Monday night as a result of their injuries.

Cartwright said no inmates ever escaped the prison grounds during the event, to which more than 200 law enforcement officers responded.

The Department of Public Safety issued a statement Friday saying immediate action would be taken to make prisons safer in the wake of the incident.

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