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Prison guard shot at hospital; inmate flees

Healthcare Security Weekly, January 30, 2006

Police caught up to the man who shot a prison guard in the face as he attempted to escape custody while medical staff treated him at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown, MD, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Brandon Morris, an inmate at Roxbury Correctional Institution, was receiving treatment at the hospital for an unspecified ailment, when he overpowered the corrections officer watching him, grabbed the officer's gun, and shot him in the face.

Morris then hijacked a taxi cap and engaged police and hospital security on a high-speed chase, which ended when the cab driver crashed the taxi, allowing police to apprehend Morris.

Officials are investigating how Morris was able to overpower the guard and escape because he is supposed to have either one leg or one arm shackled to the hospital bed.

The investigation is also questioning the policy that allows for officers to be armed when guarding inmates at a hospital.

The correctional officer is in critical condition in intensive care at the hospital.

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