6 Inmates Escape County Jail; 3 Are Captured
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Six inmates -- two of them charged with murder -- escaped by overpowering a guard at the understaffed Cook County Jail, authorities said. Three were captured.
The men escaped from a special unit for inmates with disciplinary problems. One guard was on duty instead of two because of staffing shortages, said county Sheriff’s Department spokesman Bill Cunningham.
An inmate threw hot water from a shower on the guard and held him at bay with a homemade knife, then handcuffed the guard and put on his uniform, officials said.
That inmate was caught after opening doors to let the six inmates out. They got over a barbed wire fence and onto the streets.
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