Scores of barefoot prisoners on the run after guard killed in jailbreak

More than 170 inmates have escaped from a jail in Haiti after a mass prison break which left one guard dead. The inmates, many of them barefoot, attacked as they were released from their cells to bathe. They stole an unknown number of weapons and exchanged gunfire with police during the chaotic breakout. One guard was killed in the shootout and several others were injured, while one prisoner also died after falling off a wall and hitting his head during the panicked escape.

One guard was killed during the incident. Three prisoner were wounded, including one who died as a consequence of his wounds.

Justice minister Camille Edouard Junior

Several inmates were caught during the break but dozens more remain on the run. Police, backed by UN peacekeepers, have set up checkpoints on roads leading to the prison in the hope of catching the escapees. But inmates at the Arcahaie jail don’t wear uniforms, making the remaining fugitives hard to identify. The U.S. Embassy advised all American citizens to avoid the area because of the escape.