Inmates overpower guards

AP October 24,2016 - 11:14 AM

A guard lies dead inside the Civil Prison after a jailbreak in the coastal town of Arcahaie, Haiti, Saturday.  (AP)

A guard lies dead inside the Civil Prison after a jailbreak in the coastal town of Arcahaie, Haiti, Saturday.
(AP)

ARCAHAIE, Haiti — More than 100 mostly barefoot inmates overpowered guards on Saturday and escaped from a lockup in central Haiti, officials said.

Judge Henry Claude Louis-Jean said the prison break occurred in Arcahaie, a coastal town about 30 miles north of Haiti’s capital. One guard was reported killed and others were injured.

The escapees stole an unknown number of weapons, and some exchanged gunfire with police during the chaotic breakout.

The inmates attacked after they were released from a crammed holding pen to bathe, according to provincial authorities.

Haitian prisons are notoriously overcrowded, and many inmates spend years in pretrial detention. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the escaped inmates in Arcahaie were convicted of serious crimes and how many were awaiting trial.

Police asked jittery residents of the coastal area to follow authorities’ instructions as a manhunt intensified. It wasn’t clear if any of the inmates had been recaptured by Saturday evening.

The US Embassy advised all American citizens to avoid the area due to the escape.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: guards, Haiti, jail

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.