Perimeter guards absent as 2 men escaped Philadelphia prison

This combo from photos provided by Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons shows from left, Nasir Grant, left, and Ameen Hurst. Authorities searched Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for two inmates, one accused of killing four people, who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Hurst, 18, and Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center around 8:30 p.m. Sunday by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons said.(Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons via AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There were no dedicated corrections officers watching the housing unit at a Philadelphia prison where two inmates escaped Sunday night, and there were no armed perimeter guards when they made it through a fence surrounding the prison yard, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press Tuesday. Authorities are still searching for two inmates — one accused of killing four people — who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Prison officials say several headcounts conducted Sunday and Monday reportedly showed that all prisoners were accounted for.


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