Local, state, and federal law enforcement are urgently looking for 10 inmates, including murderers, who escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday.
According to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, at least 2 of the escapees have been recaptured.
Officials say the inmates may have had inside help after it was discovered they escaped through a hole behind a toilet.
Some bolts were removed from the outside of the jail wall, so investigators are looking into who was in the area at the time leading up to the breach.
The jail is reportedly severely understaffed.
“The primary security breach and concern is the facility’s infrastructure,” Chief of Corrections Jeworski Mallett said, according to Fox News. “We’ve identified that we have a large number of high security individuals in a minimum custody facility. This particular breach of security occurred on the first floor of one of our security pods, where we had slider doors. These doors are able to be manipulated and forced off the track that they’re on, which allows individuals to enter and exit at will.”
The inmates were identified as: Antoine Massey, Lenton Venburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermaine Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Keith Lewis.
Fox News reported:
An urgent manhunt was underway Friday after nearly a dozen inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail between Thursday night and Friday morning as authorities said they’re investigating if the escape was an inside job.
Officials shared a photo of the hole used by the 10 inmates to escape, which appeared to have been hidden behind a toilet. Chief of Corrections Jeworski “Jay” Mallett said during a news conference that there were “several security breaches.”
He added toiletries in a handicap cell were used to remove some of the bolts and toilets.
“We know that this could not be removed from the inside, so we are investigating that to see exactly who entered these areas, what kind of work was done, if there was work being done, and if this is an inside job,” Mallett said.
More on this developing story from LiveNOW Fox:
