Associated Press
TEXARKANA, Ark. — An inmate who escaped from a northeast Texas jail was fatally shot by an Arkansas police officer after the inmate tussled with another officer who was trying to take him into custody, authorities said.
The inmate was one of two who were discovered missing early Monday from the Bowie County jail annex in Texarkana, Texas, a city on the state’s border with Arkansas about 165 miles (266 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. The pair escaped by breaking through a cinder block wall on the second floor of the facility, then maneuvering through perimeter fencing and barbed wire, the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff said video footage later captured the pair climbing onto a train.
About 1 p.m. Monday, two Texarkana, Arkansas, police officers encountered the inmates and tried to take them into custody, Arkansas State Police said. According to state police, one of the inmates tried to grab an officer’s gun, causing it to fire, so the other police officer fatally shot the inmate.
The second inmate was taken into custody, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of the jail annex, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
Authorities have not yet released the name of the inmate who was killed, pending notification of his family.
One inmate was being held on a felony assault and probation violation charge while the other was jailed on burglary and drug charges, police said, but they didn’t immediately say which one died.