Ten Inmates, Including Convicted Murderer, Escape from New Orleans Prison
Three Recaptured, Seven Still on the Run
In New Orleans, Louisiana, ten inmates, including a convicted murderer, escaped simultaneously from a local prison. The escapees left mocking graffiti at the scene that read, "To Easy, LoL (Too easy, haha)."
Prisoners who escaped from a US prison left graffiti above the hole they escaped through that read "Too easy." Photo by AP Yonhap News
According to the Associated Press on May 17 (local time), at around 1 a.m. the previous day, ten inmates broke out of Orleans Parish Prison, a city jail in New Orleans, Louisiana. Authorities have launched a manhunt and are offering rewards for information leading to their capture.
The inmates reportedly forced open a locked bathroom door in the middle of the night, dismantled a toilet and part of the metal bars, and escaped through a hole behind the fixtures. Above the hole in the wall, they left taunting messages such as "Too easy" and "We are innocent."
Security camera footage from the scene shows the inmates running as they escape the prison, and climbing over barbed wire fences wrapped in blankets they had prepared in advance. Some inmates were even seen crossing a nearby highway and fleeing into a residential area.
Prison officials did not discover the escape until 8:30 a.m., seven hours later, during the morning roll call. At the time of the escape, one technician was monitoring the surveillance cameras but failed to notice the breakout. The technician explained that he had left his post to get food.
Among the escapees was Derrick Groves, who was convicted last year of fatally shooting two people. The inmates were serving sentences for various charges including assault, domestic violence, and murder. Three of the escapees have been recaptured, but the remaining seven, including those charged with murder, are still at large.
Investigators have issued a public wanted notice for the escapees and launched a large-scale search operation. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $5,000, while the U.S. Department of Justice and the Crime Commission have offered rewards of $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.
Meanwhile, a local police official stated, "It is nearly impossible to escape from this facility without someone's help," adding that they are investigating the possibility that someone inside the prison assisted the escapees.
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