Mass Prison Escape from New Orleans Jail

Incident Overview

In a dramatic turn of events reminiscent of a television thriller, ten inmates escaped from a prison in the New Orleans area Friday night. The escape was made possible by a large hole they created in the wall of their cell. The absence of the inmates was discovered during a routine headcount the following morning, revealing that the escape occurred approximately seven and a half hours earlier.

Details of the Escape

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Offstart issued an official statement indicating that the inmates likely received assistance from individuals inside the facility to execute the mass escape. A released photograph showcased a significant rectangular hole in the wall, situated behind where a sink and toilet should have been located. Several metal rods lay scattered around the entrance, with horizontal bars missing from the top.

Additional troubling images displayed a toilet that had been torn from the wall, with disconnected plumbing visible. The escaped inmates left behind provocative messages, including “Too easy, haha” and “We are innocent,” around the opening.

Local Sheriff Susan Hudson noted the challenges inmates face in plotting an escape without external help. She commented, “It is difficult for inmates to escape without outside assistance,” and confirmed that an investigation is underway to determine if there was any collusion from within the department.

Factors Contributing to the Escape

Sheriff Hudson explained that faulty locks on the prison cells facilitated the escape. The inmates successfully pulled the doors, causing them to come off their tracks around midnight, then managed to break through a door. By 1:00 AM, they exited through the hole in the wall, scaled a perimeter wall, and fled toward a nearby main road.

Ongoing Search for Escaped Inmates

The prison escape was not detected until the headcount was conducted at 8:30 AM, leading to an immediate alarm. Out of the ten escaped inmates, two have since been apprehended by law enforcement. The remaining eight are still on the run, with authorities classifying them as “armed and dangerous.”

This incident has raised significant concerns about safety and security protocols within the prison system, leading to calls for a thorough investigation into how such an escape was able to transpire. Authorities appeal to the public for any information regarding the escapees’ whereabouts