Inmates facing murder charges among 11 escapees from New Orleans prison
Eleven prisoners, several of them facing murder charges, have escaped a New Orleans jail, authorities say.
The inmates are thought to have fled around midnight, and were discovered missing during a headcount at 08:30 local time (13:30 GMT) at the Orleans Parish Jail on Friday morning.
One inmate was apprehended in New Orleans' French Quarter, police said.
The escaped inmates are considered "armed and dangerous", the Orleans Parish Sheriff's office said, adding that a search was underway.
Louisiana State Police identified one escapee as Kendall Myles in downtown New Orleans through facial recognition technology after he was caught on a surveillance camera.
He tried to flee on foot before being apprehended "without further incident", the police force said.
While authorities are yet to say how the inmates escaped, WDSU, an affiliate of NBC, reported they dug a hole possibly under a toilet. The BBC has not verified that account.
New Orleans police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said the prisoner escape was an "urgent and serious situation" and encouraged the public to report any suspicious activity.
Victims of some of the escapees have been notified, she said, adding that several are facing murder and other violent charges.
The inmates probably had help, Supt Kirkpatrick said, and are unlikely to still be wearing prison uniforms, warning that anyone who helped the inmates would be charged.
The FBI and US Marshals have also joined local police in the search, she added.
The Orleans Parish Jail is located near the centre of the city, around 3 km (2 miles) from the city's famous French Quarter.
Video shows prisoner on the run minutes after van escape
Judge says US citizen, 2, may have been deported without 'meaningful process'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Austria in shock after school shooting by former pupil leaves 11 dead
Austria was in mourning on Tuesday after a gunman opened fire at a secondary school before taking his own life, leaving a total of 11 people dead. The suspected perpetrator was a 21-year-old former pupil, who used two legally owned weapons to carry out the horrifying attack, according to Austrian authorities. Chancellor Christian Stocker called the incident a "national tragedy" in a post on X, as European leaders offered their condolences. The identities of the victims have not been confirmed by police, although the APA news agency reported that one adult woman had died of her injuries in hospital. Of the nine victims initially reported shortly after the attack early on Tuesday, six were female and three male, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said. A further 11 people were also injured, some of them seriously. The minister said the perpetrator never graduated and that his motive was still being investigated. After carrying out the rampage, he died by suicide in a bathroom at the school. The general director of public security, Franz Ruf, told broadcaster ORF that police found a suicide note, but that the document did not include a motive for the shooting. Austrian media have speculated that the man may have been bullied as a pupil. "This horror cannot be put into words," Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen wrote on X. "Austria is in mourning." Shots fired on Tuesday morning Police said the shots were fired at an upper secondary school around 10 am (0800 GMT), with special units quickly responding to the scene. Students at such schools are typically 14 years and older. In some of the first details to emerge from inside the school, the father of a boy who was present said the suspect intentionally shot pupils in a classroom. The son said he threw himself to the floor and played dead, the man told broadcaster Puls24. He said his child saw three schoolmates being killed with his own eyes, but escaped unharmed, along with his brother. The building was evacuated, with students and teachers escorted to a safe meeting place, and some 300 police officers were deployed. Parents and uninjured students were taken to nearby buildings and cared for by crisis intervention teams, the city said. Police wrote later on X there was "no further danger" and that the "situation is secure." A spokesman for the local Red Cross said more than 160 rescue workers were sent to the scene. Several rescue helicopters were also in operation, while a special emergency protocol was activated to ensure medical care for numerous injured individuals. European leaders 'horrified' by shooting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in German on X: "The news from Graz hits home. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and friends." "Schools are symbols of youth, hope, and the future," she added. "It is difficult to bear when schools become places of death and violence." European Council President António Costa said he was "horrified by the news of the school shooting in Graz." "A senseless act of violence in a place where children should feel safe and protected," he wrote on X. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz also extended their condolences over the deadly shooting. "It was with great dismay and deep sadness that I learnt of the act of violence in Graz, in which so many innocent people lost their lives," Steinmeier wrote to his Austrian counterpart Van der Bellen. "Your German neighbours are with you in their hearts," Steinmeier said. Merz sent a message to Stocker, saying he was "deeply shocked that young people were torn from their lives so abruptly." Three days of mourning to be announced Austria will observe three days of national mourning following the deadly shooting. A minute's silence will be observed across the country on Wednesday. Flags at the presidential office, the chancellery and other official buildings are to be flown at half-mast during the mourning period. Graz, in south-eastern Austria, is home to around 300,000 people.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
10 killed in Austrian school shooting: A rare event for the country
10 people, including teenagers, were killed after a shooter opened fire at a high school in Austria on Tuesday. The shooting was one of the worst in the country's history. According to CNN, at first Austrian police said eight people were killed and then the number was raised to nine. Gerhard Karner, the country's interior minister, said that six of the victims were female and three were male. The victims also included children between 14 and 18 years old. Later in the day the Graz Regional Hospital said that a woman who was wounded in the attack died of her injuries, per NBC. There were 12 students also injured in the shooting, some of them seriously. During a press conference following the shooting, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker described Tuesday as a 'dark day in the history of our country.' 'There are no words to express the pain, disbelief and grief felt by the whole of Austria. Our country stands still in this moment of horror,' Stocker added. The country of Austria will be holding a period of mourning over the next three days to pay respect to the victims. A minute of silence will be held on Wednesday and the flag will be flown at half-staff at all public buildings, per The Washington Post. The incident occurred at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Dreierschützengasse school in Graz, Austria's second largest city. Police first responded to reports of 'several' suspected gunshots at the school around 10 a.m. local time. Several vehicles, ambulance, a police helicopter and a special task force were deployed to the scene, per NBC. Over 300 police officers were sent to the scene to ensure an evacuation and cordon off the school. The injured students were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, per The Washington Post. The lone suspect in the shooting was identified as a 21-year-old Austrian male who had previously attended the school but did not graduate. He carried out the killing spree using a rifle and a handgun before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, per CNN. 'According to the current state of the investigation, the alleged perpetrator committed suicide in a toilet facility,' said Gerald Ortner, director of the police for the state of Styria. Officials did not give a motive for the gunman, but they did share that he acted alone and they believe he obtained the weapons legally. Austria has a low prevalence of gun violence and school shootings are uncommon, per The Washington Post. Not including Tuesday's attack, Austria has had two public mass shootings since 2000, neither of which occurred at a school. The U.S. has had 119 in the same time period. According to The Washington Post, the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government defines a public mass shooting as those that take place 'in a public or populated location' in which at least four people were killed and some victims 'were targeted at random and/or for their symbolic value.' The country's most recent mass shooting was in 2020, when a man killed four people in Vienna, before being fatally shot by police. Credit for the attack was claimed by The Islamic State.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Daughter of accused Gilgo Beach killer believes her father ‘most likely' did it, new film says
This image released by Peacock shows a street sign for Gilgo Beach in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows a family photo of Rex Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Asa Ellerup, left, and Victoria Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Victoria Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Victoria Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows a street sign for Gilgo Beach in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows a family photo of Rex Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Asa Ellerup, left, and Victoria Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Victoria Heuermann in a scene from the documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." (Peacock via AP) NEW YORK (AP) — The daughter of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann believes he 'most likely' committed the infamous killings in New York even as her mother steadfastly defends her ex-husband's innocence in a new documentary released Tuesday. The admission from Victoria Heuermann isn't made on camera but through a statement from producers near the end of 'The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,' a three-part documentary on NBC's streaming service Peacock. Advertisement 'A week before the series release, Victoria Heuermann told the producers that based on publicly available facts that have been presented and explained to her, she now believes her father is most likely the Gilgo Beach killer,' reads a statement at the close of the final episode of the documentary, which was produced by musician 50 Cent's production company, G-Unit Film and Television. Bob Macedonio, an attorney for Heuermann's now ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, said in a statement after the documentary's release that 'time will only tell' whether his client will ever accept that her husband may have been a serial killer. Heuermann's lawyer didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The Manhattan architect has been charged with killing seven women, most of them sex workers, and dumping their bodies on a desolate parkway not far from Gilgo Beach on Long Island, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Manhattan. Advertisement He has pleaded not guilty and is due back in Riverhead court June 17 as a judge continues to weigh whether to allow key DNA evidence into the trial. In the documentary, Victoria Heuermann struggles to reconcile her childhood memories with the portrait of the killer described by authorities. She says her father was around the family '90% of the time' and was never violent toward any of them. At the same time, Victoria Heuermann acknowledged there were times when he stayed home while the family went on vacation and that she was around 10 to 13 years old when the killings happened. Prosecutors say Heuerman committed some of the killings in the basement while his family was out of town. Advertisement 'Whether or not I believe my dad did it or not, I'm on the fence about that,' said the now 28-year-old. 'Part of me thinks he didn't do it, but at the same time, I don't know, he could have just totally had a double life.' Ellerup, for her part, maintained she saw no 'abnormal behavior' in their nearly three decades of marriage. She dismissed a computer file prosecutors claim is a 'blueprint' of his crimes as 'absurd.' The document features a series of checklists for before, during and after a killing, such as a 'body prep' checklist that includes among other items a note to 'remove head and hands.' Advertisement Ellerup also shrugged off other evidence prosecutors have enumerated in court documents, including a vast collection of bondage and torture pornography found on electronic devices seized from their home, and hairs linked to Heuermann that were recovered on most of the victims' bodies. At the same time, she revealed that in July 2009, around the time one of his alleged victims went missing, Heuermann suddenly renovated a bathroom while she and their two children were on vacation for weeks to visit her family in Iceland. But she noted her former husband eventually joined the family for their final week of their trip. 'My husband, he's a family man. He's my hero,' Ellerup said. 'What I want to say to him is, 'I love you, no matter what.'' Ellerup divorced Heuermann after his arrest in 2023. But in the documentary, Victoria Heuermann says the separation was for financial reasons to protect the family's assets. Advertisement Indeed, the mother and daughter have been regularly attending court hearings with their attorney. The filmmakers even captured them speaking to Heuermann by phone from jail. A Peacock spokesperson said Ellerup was paid a location fee and a licensing fee for use of family archive materials, although the payments cannot go toward the defendant or his defense funds. The family, which also includes Ellerup's adult son from a prior marriage, is planning to put up its notoriously ramshackle house in well-to-do Massapequa Park for sale as they look to move to a property they own in South Carolina. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo on X: @philmarcelo.
