A manhunt is underway in Houston after a prisoner escaped during a court appearance while holding a district attorney’s office worker at knifepoint.
Officials said an inmate was able to get away from security near the courthouse, climbed down a pipe, held a female employee from the Harris County DA’s office at knifepoint, then jumped into the Buffalo Bayou.
He reportedly tried to steal the woman’s car before going into the water. She was not harmed during the incident.
The man’s name was not released by law enforcement, but was identified as 35-year-old Nigel Sanders by Click2Houston. The charges behind his court appearance were unknown.
Houston police, Harris County sheriff’s deputies and Precinct 1 constables are involved in the search. The constable’s office handles security at the courthouse.
The incident prompted a lockdown at the University of Houston-Downtown campus.
“Get indoors immediately. Lock outside doors. Avoid Windows,” the school said in an alert posted on social media.
Officials said the man was wearing jail-issued orange pants and a black shirt when he escaped.
