PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police said they recaptured a man who escaped from custody at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in University City on Tuesday. Officers frantically searched for the man before locating him several hours later in the Powelton Village neighborhood.
The man, who authorities said had been involved in a shooting incident earlier, slipped away from officers while being escorted from the hospital to a police vehicle just before 10:30 a.m.
That sparked a large manhunt. Police shut down the 3800 block of Pearl Street in Powelton Village as they searched backyards and alleys for the man.
“You know that when I opened my back door to my yard to see a cop back there, it was just surprising to me,” said John Wilson, who lives on Pearl Street. “When I came to the front door after I seen him in the back, I seen a bunch of policemen in the front, and they had their guns drawn yet.”
Xavier Stewart, a Drexel University student, was in a yard off Pearl Street filming a project for school when police streamed by.
“We got an email this morning, like a Drexel alert, as they call them, about there being someone on the loose,” said Stewart.
For about 30 minutes leading up to his capture, officers ran through the neighborhood, searching under cars and in yards. Police said the man was found about 1:15 p.m. less than a block away in the area of 3800 Baring Street, and taken back into custody.
The man’s name has not been released. The case police said they’ve connected him to is being investigated by the department’s Shooting Investigation Group.
