Suspect in multiple killings arrested nearly 10 days after escaping from Philadelphia prison
A suspect accused in multiple killings was re-captured by authorities in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, almost 10 days after he escaped from a prison in the area.
Eighteen-year-old Ameen Hurst, who is charged in the shooting deaths of four people between December 2020 and March 2021, broke out of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center earlier this month by cutting a hole in the fence, authorities said at the time.
Hurst was arrested without incident on Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw confirmed in a tweet.
On the night of May 7, he had escaped the correctional center with another inmate, 24-year-old Nasir Grant, who was in custody for narcotics violations, theft and firearm charges. Grant was apprehended in Philadelphia last week, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Authorities did not learn that Hurst and Grant had broken out custody for almost 18 hours after their initial escape. Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said that they had been accounted for inside the detention center at 8:30 p.m. on May 7, although they missed the next three head counts at 11 p.m. that night, and 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. the following morning.
Carney previously told CBS Philadelphia that Hurst and Grant appeared to be inside the prison during the missed counts, even though they had already escaped. The commissioner said an investigation would determine why neither inmate was listed as missing.
Several people have now been charged for allegedly assisting Hurst and Grant's escape, CBS Philadelphia reported. The accused, 21-year-old Xianni Stalling, 21-year-old Michael Abrams and 35-year-old Jose Flores-Huerta, who is incarcerated himself, face multiple counts of criminal conspiracy, criminal use of a communications facility, hindering apprehension and escape.
Whether authorities are continuing to look for suspects allegedly connected to the inmates' escape is unclear. When Flores-Huerta was charged last Friday, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said, "Anyone else that is involved in this will also be taken to justice," CBS Philadelphia reported.
