Officials say 32 teens escaped from a Nashville youth detention center by crawling under a fence late Monday, and 9 of them were still on the run Tuesday.

Department of Children's Services spokesman Rob Johnson says the teens — ages 14 to 19 — left their rooms and went into a common area, where they overwhelmed 16 to 18 staff members and kicked out a metal panel under a window to get out of the building and into a yard. Once in the yard, the teens realized they could lift part of the fence surrounding it and get out.

Two teens were captured immediately and others were found overnight. Local police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol were still searching for 10 from the group Tuesday morning.

Johnson says the state-owned center in northwest Nashville held 78 teens at the time of the escape, and most had committed at least three felonies.

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