Ten inmates, including four accused of murder, slipped out of a New Orleans jail early Friday morning and managed to stay under the radar for over seven hours. Their escape, now captured on surveillance video, has stunned local authorities and raised serious concerns about security lapses inside the facility.
The group broke out through a hole behind a toilet, tampered with a locked cell door, and scaled a wall while a guard tasked with watching them was reportedly out picking up food. The escape route took them across Interstate 10, into a nearby neighborhood, and now, into a growing manhunt. As of now, only two have been captured. Eight are still on the run.
Inside Help And A 7-Hour Head Start
According to a timeline released by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, the inmates began working on the door around 12:23 a.m. “They ultimately broke it open,” Sheriff Susan Hutson told reporters during a briefing. Surveillance footage later showed them using blankets to climb over barbed wire fencing near I-10 around 1:19 a.m., making their way into a nearby neighborhood in the dark.
The prison staff didn’t realize the inmates were missing until a routine headcount at 8:30 a.m. “That gave the fugitives more than seven hours of freedom before the alarm was raised,” said Major Silas Phipps Jr.
Breaking News: We now have the video of the 10 inmates escaping Orleans Parish Jail this morning. This video is wild like it’s out of a movie.
— Cassie Schirm (@Cassiewdsu) May 16, 2025
One of those inmates was captured in the French Quarter, 9 are still on the run.
According to the Orleans Parish Sheriff:
12:23 am… pic.twitter.com/zMZs53mGwc
Authorities are now looking into the possibility of an inside job. Sheriff Hutson didn’t hold back. “We have an indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside our department,” she said. “There were supervisors on duty. There were lower-level folks on duty, and they all had a job to do, and we’re going to find out exactly what happened.”
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The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office timeline reveals major oversights that let 10 inmates escape undetected for hours. A guard’s food run may be just the beginning of deeper issues within the department. Investigators are reviewing footage and interviewing staff, while the search for eight fugitives continues. Authorities urge the public to stay alert and report any sightings.
