Police offer reward for information on murder suspect who escaped D.C. hospital

A murder suspect remains at large after escaping from police custody at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. On Thursday, Metropolitan Police Department announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest. 

Police said on social media that the suspect, Christopher Haynes, “escaped custody” at George Washington University Hospital just after 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. 

Haynes had complained about ankle pain from a pre-existing injury so officers transported him to the hospital for treatment, Pamela Smith, acting chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference on Thursday. While an officer was changing Haynes’ handcuffs at the hospital, Haynes assaulted the officer and fled, Smith said. 

George Washington University issued a shelter-in-place order Wednesday afternoon after the escape and lifted it later that night. A nearby resident’s surveillance camera caught the suspect in their yard wearing white socks with no shoes, police said.

In a news release, police said Haynes, 30, had been arrested earlier Wednesday and charged with a “homicide offense.” He was charged in connection with the Aug. 12 murder of Brent Haywood.

The news release did not say if Haynes was armed, but it advised people not to engage if they saw him and to call 911. Police described him as a Black male, 6’0″ in height, weighing approximately 205 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, gray shorts and white socks, with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist.