Philadelphia police hunt for escaped inmates, including alleged killer
Police tell Action News that one of the inmates, Ameen Hurst, 18, was being held on several murder charges.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are searching for two prisoners who escaped from a correctional center in Philadelphia.
One of the escapees is alleged to be a dangerous killer.
The escape happened on Sunday night around 8:30 p.m. when the individuals were seen on surveillance footage cutting a hole in a fence at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (P.I.C.C) located at 8301 State Road.
Police tell Action News that one of the inmates, Ameen Hurst, 18, was being held on several murder charges.
Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore said one homicide took place on Christmas Eve in 2020 on the 1800 block of Wynnewood Road.
Vanore stated that in March 2021, Hurst committed three more murders. He said Hurst shot four people and killed two behind an apartment building on North 76th Street on March 11, 2021.
Then, just days later on March 18, officials say Hurst shot and killed Rodney Hargrove roughly one hour after he was released from the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility.
READ | 16-year-old connected to 4 Philly murders, including shooting near prison
The second inmate who broke out of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center is 24-year-old Nasir Grant, who police say was being held on narcotics and gun violations.
Officers say the only connection between the two inmates is that they were housed in the same unit but in different cells.
How prison break went undetected for hours
According to Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center became aware of the two escaped inmates around 3 p.m. Monday.
Carney says there were three headcounts which took place at 11 p.m. Sunday, 3 a.m. Monday, and 7 a.m. Monday before learning of the escape.
It's still unclear how the missing inmates went under the radar.
"So the facility became aware today at their 3 p.m. headcount that we had two individuals that were not accounted for. They're going back through the process to see if those three counts that were called in as cleared and why they did not detect those two individuals missing," said Carney.
Action News asked Carney if she believed someone on her staff aided in the escape or if it was a case of negligence.
She responded by saying we would have to wait for an official investigation.
"I'm really angry about it, there's no reason for this and if everyone did what they were supposed to do we wouldn't have this problem," said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney at the press conference.
In the meantime, police officials ask the public to be cautious of these individuals.
Officials say if you see either of the inmates or know of their whereabouts, call the police tip line at 215-546-TIPS or call 911 immediately.
