Investigators in Washington, DC, are offering $30,000 for information leading to the capture of homicide suspect Christopher Haynes, whose escape from police custody while being treated at a hospital has sparked a sprawling week-long manhunt, CNN reports.
The DC Metropolitan Police Department is pursuing numerous tips about possible sightings since the 30-year-old fugitive Christopher Haynes who managed to break away from an officer last Wednesday and race out of the hospital with a handcuff on one wrist, police said, according to CNN.
Christopher Haynes escaped just hours after he was arrested on suspicion of killing 33-year-old Brent Hayward last month, according to police.
While Haynes was being processed by officers, he “complained of ankle pain from a preexisting injury,” so he was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment, police said in a news release.
As an officer was adjusting Haynes’ handcuffs to cuff one of his hands to a gurney, the suspect “physically assaulted” the officer and fled the hospital, outrunning the two officers who chased after him, police said.
Security camera footage released by police Tuesday shows a man identified as Haynes jumping over a tall gate in a neighbourhood near the hospital, landing in a backyard area and peering back through the fence.
The escape triggered a multi-agency search for Haynes and prompted some temporary, precautionary road closures around the White House as well as a temporary shelter-in-place order across the George Washington University campus.
Police are urging anyone with information about Haynes’ whereabouts to contact authorities immediately. leaning
“Anyone who is found to be assisting, aiding, abetting, or harboring Christopher Haynes will be criminally charged,” police said Tuesday.
Though police have not confirmed whether Christopher Haynes is armed, a DC government emergency alert sent shortly after his escape warned people to “use caution” as he is “considered armed and dangerous.”
Police say people should be on the lookout for a Black man with shoulder-length locks and a Washington Nationals tattoo on his neck. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, gray shorts, one red shoe and black handcuffs hanging from his wrist.
Federal and local agencies are assisting in the search effort, including the US Secret Service and US Park Police.
The police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is also investigating how Haynes was able to flee custody, according to Acting Chief of Police Pamela Smith.