Reward offered in search for escaped inmate convicted in attempted murder of cop

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Police in Maryland are now offering a reward in the ongoing search for an escaped inmate convicted in the attempted murder of a Delaware cop.

“The search for escaped prisoner David M. Watson will continue overnight,” the Howard County Police Department wrote on Facebook Friday night. “Anyone with information is urged to call 911. Police are offering a reward up to $5,000.”

 David M. Watson, 28, escaped Friday morning from a van that had been driven from the Wicomico County Corrections Center to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, Maryland, according to Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.

The escape happened on the edges of the hospital grounds around 9:40 a.m. local time, Llewellyn said. When a guard opened the door to the van, Watson pushed the guard down and ran into the woods, Llewellyn said.

Authorities believe Watson somehow got out of his handcuffs and waist chain while in the van.

There has been no sighting of Watson, who is serving a prison sentence of more than 100 years in Delaware for attempted murder, Llewellyn said. He reportedly shot at a Delaware police officer’s house.

The Howard County Police Department has released several pictures of Watson, showing him with and without glasses as well as his numerous tattoos, in an effort to help the public identify the fugitive.

Escaped prisoner David Watson has been known to wear glasses, as in this undated photo. Anyone who spots him should call 911, reward $5,000 pic.twitter.com/4a5UucFjqE

— Howard County Police (@HCPDNews) April 29, 2017

Watson is also facing charges in Wicomico County, Maryland, for multiple counts of attempted murder.

A Maryland judge reportedly found Watson not competent in 2014 to face trial on the attempted murder charges in Wicomico County. He was being transported to the hospital to undergo a regular six-month psychiatric evaluation as a condition set by the judge, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Wicomico County correctional officers had reportedly picked up Watson in Delaware on Thursday.

Police do not know whether Watson has any outside help or whether he has left the area. Authorities lost sight of him as he ran into the woods but they were able to pick up a canine trail, so they know in which direction he was headed, Llewellyn said.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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