By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Police in northern Virginia locked down a hospital early Tuesday and closed area roads while they search for a prisoner they say is armed and dangerous after he escaped custody.
Fairfax County police said in their verified Twitter account that they were searching the area around Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church after the escape. The prisoner escaped the custody of a private security guard with the officer’s gun, police said.
“Hospital is on lockdown,” said a tweet from the police.
The prisoner, identified as Wossen Assaye, is wearing a hospital gown and no shoes, police said. They asked people in the area to call police with information about anything suspicious.
There were road closures for several blocks around the hospital and the closest exit from the beltway was closed. Dozens of police cars surrounded the hospital, which is located just outside the Capital Beltway, and there are officers with rifles stationed around the area.
Police asked hospital employees to go to a local high school to take a shuttle bus to the hospital since they cannot drive onto the property. As the morning rush got underway, police warned of traffic delays in the usually congested area.
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