Authorities are searching for two inmates who escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, were missing from the prison facility for around 19 hours before anyone noticed their escape, according to KCRA. It’s believed the two men fled the complex by cutting a hole in the fence lining the recreation yard.
Headcounts were conducted at 11 p.m. on Sunday, 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. Monday, which reportedly showed that all inmates were accounted for throughout the facility. It wasn’t until 3 p.m. Monday that those running the prison realized the two men were missing, KCRA noted. Images of the two men were shared on the Philadelphia Department of Prisons Twitter page.
— Philadelphia Department of Prisons (@PhillyPrisons) May 9, 2023
Hurst was arrested in March 2021 after he was accused of killing a man on Christmas Eve, 2020, KCRA noted. He also stands accused of three other shooting homicides from March 2021.
“He’s a very dangerous individual from what we know, and we are looking for the public’s help to get him back,” Philadelphia police deputy commissioner Frank Vanore reportedly said of Hurst.
Grant was held at the facility on conspiracy drug and weapon’s charges. The two men were placed in the same unit but were not cell mates, Department of Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said, in a press conference shared by Fox29. (RELATED: Two Inmates Get Pregnant After ‘Consensual’ Relationship With Trans Convict)
“As we go through the process, we have protocols in place, and these protocols were not followed,” Carney said of the situation. “So that will be part of our investigation.” A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrests of both men, who are considered armed and dangerous.