March 31, 2015
Fairfax County Police/Twitter
Police in northern Virginia are searching for an armed prisoner after he escaped from a local hospital.
The armed prisoner who escaped from a hospital in Fairfax County in northern Virginia on Tuesday has been captured in Washington, D.C., local police said.
The prisoner identified as Wossen Assaye, who was being treated at the hospital, had struggled with a private security guard and fled with the guard's gun, police said.
Police said Assaye was driving a stolen car identified as a silver 2002 Toyota Camry with damage to the front and the license plate number of XZP-8153. They also said Assaye might be with his girlfriend, whose photo was posted on Twitter but who was not named.
Assaye had been held by the nearby city of Alexandria on federal charges of armed bank robbery and was taken to the hospital situated about 15 miles (24 km) west of Washington after he tried to harm himself, according to police.
While at the medical center, Assaye overpowered the guard and took his gun, police said. One shot was fired, but no one was injured before the suspect fled wearing only a hospital gown, police said.
Authorities from state, local and federal agencies were assisting in the search. A lockdown at the hospital was lifted after it became clear Assaye was no longer inside the facility, and roads around the hospital also reopened, police said.
Dave Turk, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, said the prisoner had been treated at the hospital since Friday.
