towelsnap
11-25-2009, 07:38 AM
Two masked men pulled guns on a pair of jail guards in a bold breakout of a prisoner at Hamilton General Hospital just before lunch today.
The guards were escorting a prisoner from the north-Hamilton hospital when they were jumped by the pair. The attackers wore surgical masks and had hoodies pulled down low over their faces.
They freed the prisoner – Fawad Nouri – and raced from the hospital parking lot in the jail van, hitting an ambulance as they fled.
Supt. Bill Stewart says Nouri was in jail on charges he and another man allegedly robbed a Tim Hortons and fired shots at police in January.
The trio abandoned the van just a few blocks away, then jumped into another getaway car that was waiting for them. It's described as a silver Hyundai Tiburon.
At a hastily called press conference, police released a photo of the escaped prisoner and described the three men as armed and dangerous.
Stewart says Nouri was at the hospital for a scheduled followup appointment, and police are investigating how the suspects pulled off the escape.
"It would appear that there was some planning that went into this escape because prisoners aren't told when their visits to the hospitals are going to take place," he said.
"Obviously the persons who assisted in this escape were able to obtain some sort of information that allowed them to be there at that time."
Stewart said he isn't suggesting there was necessarily insider information at play, but police are looking at a number of scenarios.The guards were not injured but are shaken up, Stewart said.
Nouri, 24, and another man, Todd Fenty are alleged to have robbed a Hamilton Tim Hortons and engaged in a high-speed police chase and gun battle in January.
They were charged with four counts of robbery, firearms offences and wearing a disguise. Soon after, police added 36 other charges to the list of offences.
"That refers to nine customers who were in the store when two individuals came to rob it, being forced to stay down and stay in the store," homicide Detective Sergeant Peter Abi-Rashed said at the time.
Police allege Fenty and Nouri entered the coffee shop around 9 p.m. and pulled a shotgun and a 45-calibre handgun on customers and four staff members. The customers "were instructed by one of the robbery suspects not to move and to keep their hands on the table," said Detective John Canaris, of the Break Enter, Auto theft and Robbery unit.
There were customers in the Hortons drive-thru and lots of people at the next-door gas station when the armed robbery occurred, he said.
Witnesses outside the store saw the robbery and alerted police, who ended up in a high-speed highway chase. The suspects allegedly drove up a snowbank and fled on foot.
Police say shots were fired at two officers chasing the suspects down the sidewalk.
Nouri was hit in the arm when police fired. The shooting is under investigation by the provincial Special Investigations Unit, which reviews all incidents involving police in which a civilian is injured or killed.
Police said they recovered a semi-automatic handgun and a shotgun, which have been sent for forensic testing
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/51/67/2ae0eb434619a602e660b2d5f676.jpeg
The guards were escorting a prisoner from the north-Hamilton hospital when they were jumped by the pair. The attackers wore surgical masks and had hoodies pulled down low over their faces.
They freed the prisoner – Fawad Nouri – and raced from the hospital parking lot in the jail van, hitting an ambulance as they fled.
Supt. Bill Stewart says Nouri was in jail on charges he and another man allegedly robbed a Tim Hortons and fired shots at police in January.
The trio abandoned the van just a few blocks away, then jumped into another getaway car that was waiting for them. It's described as a silver Hyundai Tiburon.
At a hastily called press conference, police released a photo of the escaped prisoner and described the three men as armed and dangerous.
Stewart says Nouri was at the hospital for a scheduled followup appointment, and police are investigating how the suspects pulled off the escape.
"It would appear that there was some planning that went into this escape because prisoners aren't told when their visits to the hospitals are going to take place," he said.
"Obviously the persons who assisted in this escape were able to obtain some sort of information that allowed them to be there at that time."
Stewart said he isn't suggesting there was necessarily insider information at play, but police are looking at a number of scenarios.The guards were not injured but are shaken up, Stewart said.
Nouri, 24, and another man, Todd Fenty are alleged to have robbed a Hamilton Tim Hortons and engaged in a high-speed police chase and gun battle in January.
They were charged with four counts of robbery, firearms offences and wearing a disguise. Soon after, police added 36 other charges to the list of offences.
"That refers to nine customers who were in the store when two individuals came to rob it, being forced to stay down and stay in the store," homicide Detective Sergeant Peter Abi-Rashed said at the time.
Police allege Fenty and Nouri entered the coffee shop around 9 p.m. and pulled a shotgun and a 45-calibre handgun on customers and four staff members. The customers "were instructed by one of the robbery suspects not to move and to keep their hands on the table," said Detective John Canaris, of the Break Enter, Auto theft and Robbery unit.
There were customers in the Hortons drive-thru and lots of people at the next-door gas station when the armed robbery occurred, he said.
Witnesses outside the store saw the robbery and alerted police, who ended up in a high-speed highway chase. The suspects allegedly drove up a snowbank and fled on foot.
Police say shots were fired at two officers chasing the suspects down the sidewalk.
Nouri was hit in the arm when police fired. The shooting is under investigation by the provincial Special Investigations Unit, which reviews all incidents involving police in which a civilian is injured or killed.
Police said they recovered a semi-automatic handgun and a shotgun, which have been sent for forensic testing
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/51/67/2ae0eb434619a602e660b2d5f676.jpeg