A suspect arrested in connection with a fatal hostage incident at a California park in April escaped custody on Sunday, officials said.
Eric Abril, 35, is accused of shooting and wounding a highway patrol officer at Mahany Park before taking two bystanders hostage, fatally shooting one and injuring the other, police said.
Abril escaped from the Sutter Roseville Medical Center early Sunday morning. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the Roseville Police Department are searching the greater east Roseville area for the suspect.
Officials did not clarify why Abril was at the medical center.
“We have developed new information revealing Abril was last seen on video surveillance walking in the area of Rainier Court in Rocklin at 3:39 a.m., and then northbound a few minutes later on Saddletree Lane,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Officials describe Abril as “a six-foot tall white male with brown hair, weighing 175 pounds,” who was last seen wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. In an update, the sheriff’s office said Abril was not wearing a shirt or shackled at the waist but is believed to be wearing orange jail pants.
The sheriff’s office is encouraging anyone with information to help find Abril to come forward.
“We ask the immediate public to exercise extreme caution and to call 911 immediately if Abril is seen,” the sheriff’s office said.
The gunfire erupted at Mahany Park on April 6 around 12:30 p.m., when California Highway Patrol officers attempted to serve a search warrant to a man as part of an ongoing felony investigation, the CHP said. The man was later identified by Roseville police as Abril.
The suspect allegedly ran and fired at CHP officers, and “an officer involved shooting occurred” as the gunman ran towards a greenbelt area, the state agency said in a statement Friday.
Abril then allegedly took the two people hostage, officials said. The hostages were later identified as a married couple.
James MacEgan, of Roseville, was killed and his spouse was shot and injured, police said.
Abril was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder, along with several other related charges, officials said.
It’s not clear at this time if Abril has legal representation.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
