The authorities in Washington, D.C., were still searching on Friday for a murder suspect who escaped from custody on Wednesday after he assaulted an officer who was changing his handcuffs at a hospital, the police said.
The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on Thursday that the man, Christopher Haynes, 30, was arrested on Wednesday in Manassas, Va., about 30 miles southwest of the capital, in connection with a killing in Northeast D.C. in August. He has not yet been to court in the matter.
Several hours after his arrest, Mr. Haynes complained of ankle pain from a pre-existing injury, and two officers took him to George Washington University Hospital for treatment, the police said. While one of the officers was changing Mr. Haynes’s handcuffs, he “physically assaulted the officer and fled” with handcuffs dangling from his right wrist, the police said.
The officers were unable to catch him.
The escape prompted George Washington University to cancel evening in-person classes, events and activities on Wednesday before lifting a shelter-in-place order later in the day.
Brooke Pinto, the City Council representative for the District’s Ward 2, which includes the Foggy Bottom neighborhood where the campus and hospital are, said she was working with the authorities to determine how Mr. Haynes was able to escape.
The police said on Thursday that they had received reports of numerous possible sightings of Mr. Haynes and were offering a $25,000 dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. They confirmed early Friday that he was still at large.
The killing for which Mr. Haynes is facing murder charges occurred on Aug. 12. About 10:40 p.m., the police responded to shots fired at a gas station on Kenilworth Avenue Northeast, where they found two men with gunshot wounds, the police incident report said. The shooting followed an argument, according to the authorities.
One of the men found, Brent Hayward, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the police report said.
It is unclear whether Mr. Haynes has a lawyer or a previous criminal record.
The search for Mr. Haynes took place in a week when other large-scale manhunts were underway for escaped prisoners, including one near Philadelphia for a convicted murderer and another in Britain for a soldier facing terrorism-related charges.
