BRIDGE CITY - A state senator is calling for the closure of the Bridge City Center for Youth after the number of escapes from the facility rose to 15 this year.

“They need to be moved out of there,” State Senator Pat Connick told WWLTV. “Out of this neighborhood into an area where they are able to be contained and hopefully rehabilitated.”

Connick also referred to the center as a "juvenile Angola," which calls for guards who can defend themselves.

Connick also said he is "floating the possibility" of transforming the center into a re-entry facility for violent offenders who wish to turn their lives around.

This statement comes less than a day after a teen escaped from the facility after he assaulted a guard and locked her in a bathroom.