Manhunt Underway for Escaped Prisoner in Virginia, Hospital Gets ‘All Clear’
UPDATE: March 31, 3015 3:49 p.m. A prisoner who escaped from a hospital in Falls Church, Va., was captured Tuesday after an hours-long manhunt.
Law enforcement officials apprehended 42-year-old Wossen Assaye around 11:30 a.m. as he exited from a Metro bus in southeast Washington, D.C.
A witness who knew about the manhunt from social media posts recognized Assaye and alerted police to his whereabouts.
FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 31 (UPI) —Gunfire was followed by a prisoner escape early Tuesday in Falls Church, Va., as police continue to hunt for the suspect who escaped from a hospital.
Wossen Assaye, 42, was identified as the escapee by police. He is considered “armed and dangerous.” Shots were fired at the Invoa Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church but there are no reports of injuries.
The hospital has been cleared to resume activities.
Police believe Assaye may be driving a stolen 2002 Toyota Camry registered in Virginia that has front-end damage. He may be with his girlfriend, according to police.
“I would please ask that anyone in the community that sees Mr. Assaye or anyone suspicious dressed in a hospital gown to call 911 immediately,” Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said. “We need community support to make this apprehension.”
Assaye was arrested by federal authorities last week in connection to an alleged series of bank robberies across Northern Virginia. Police said the robberies were committed while he was on a bike.
Assaye attempted to harm himself at Alexandria City Jail and was then transported to the hospital, where police say private security guards who were hired to look over Assaye were overpowered at about 3 a.m.
A guard’s gun was fired once, but no one was injured. It is unclear who fired the shot.
Alexandria Sheriff’s Office deputies guarded Assaye for the first 24 hours in the hospital before he was turned over to security officers contracted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assaye is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 170 pounds — last seen wearing a hospital gown and no shoes.
