A Virginia prisoner managed to escape from a hospital room early Tuesday after grabbing a security guard’s gun and running off in a hospital gown, authorities said.
There were two guards with him at the time, police said.
One shot was fired when the prisoner, Wossen Assaye, overpowered one of the guards, Fairfax County police said.
Assaye was then seen chasing people inside the hospital, a law enforcement official said.
He is believed to be driving a stolen car — a silver 2002 Toyota Camry with the Virginia license plate XZP-8153, police said on Twitter. The vehicle has front-end damage.
Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, is on lockdown, authorities said.
Assaye was being held on federal charges of armed bank robbery. He was taken to the hospital for treatment after attempting to harm himself, police said. A private security company was hired to guard him.
He has a girlfriend and family in the area, and authorities are looking into whether he may be with them, police said.
Assaye was arrested last week and charged with multiple robberies that took place in the Northern Virginia area.
He was known as the “bicycle bandit” for how he allegedly made his escape after robberies.
