Homicide suspect who escaped from Washington, D.C., hospital is captured

More than six weeks after he escaped from a Washington, D.C., hospital, a man initially arrested in connection with a murder was recaptured Thursday, officials said.

Christopher Haynes was arrested in Oxon Hill, Maryland, which is just outside of Washington, by a U.S. Marshals Service regional task force around 10:30 a.m., the agency said.

Haynes, 30, fled from George Washington University Hospital about 3:30 p.m. Sept. 6, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department has said.

He escaped the same day he was arrested in Manassas, Virginia, in connection with the killing of Brent Hayward on Aug. 12, police said. Hayward was fatally shot outside a convenience store in Northeast Washington.

After the arrest Sept. 6, Haynes complained about ankle pain and was taken to a hospital, police said.

At the hospital, as an officer was changing his handcuff to attach one to a gurney, Haynes “physically assaulted the officer and fled from the hospital with one handcuff still attached to his right wrist,” police said in a statement.

The escape prompted a manhunt that included multiple agencies that searched around the hospital, a temporary lockdown at George Washington University and temporary closures near the White House.

Police said Haynes will be charged with Hayward’s murder and the escape.