Murderers escape New Orleans jail with ‘inside’ help

Ten inmates, including some charged with murder, escaped from a New Orleans jail with inside help on Friday, and a manhunt was under way, authorities said.

The Orleans Parish Justice Center, which mostly holds people awaiting trial or sentencing, discovered the inmates aged 19 to 42 were gone during a routine head count on Friday morning, officials said.

The escapees broke out around 1 am. They first pulled a sliding cell door off its tracks then breached a wall by ripping away a toilet and sink, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said at an afternoon press conference.Security video captured the men fleeing via a loading dock, scaling a wall and running across a nearby highway, she said. Two of the inmates were captured on Friday, but the remaining eight were still on the run.

“We have indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside of our department,” Hutson said. A jail employee monitoring surveillance video saw the escape but did not alert deputies, she said.

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