Mississippi inmate who escaped, barricaded inside a restaurant near DNC now captured, officials say
Aug 21, 2024, 7:23 AM | Updated: 7:24 am
Joshua Zimmerman, an inmate who escaped custody in Mississippi is barricaded in a Chicago restaurant blocks from the DNC venue, deputies say. (DeSoto County Jail)
(DeSoto County Jail)
(CNN) — [Breaking news update at 7:04 a.m. MST]
Authorities have captured Joshua Zimmerman, a Mississippi inmate who escaped two months ago and barricaded himself in a Chicago restaurant Tuesday, the US Marshals Service said Wednesday.
[Original story, published at 4:34 a.m. MST]
An inmate who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse more than two months ago is barricaded in a Chicago restaurant, just blocks from where the Democratic National Convention is being held, officials said.
“It’s an ongoing event,” Chief Deputy Justin Smith from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi said at a news conference Tuesday.
The 30-year-old escapee, Joshua Zimmerman, is alone in the restaurant and no civilians are at risk, Smith said.
Zimmerman escaped from the courthouse in northwest Mississippi, about 25 miles south of Memphis, on June 14 and it’s not clear how he traveled to Chicago, Smith said.
He is wanted for murder, escape and armed robbery, according to the US Marshals Service.
Marshals informed the sheriff’s office Tuesday that Zimmerman had been located at a restaurant and was barricaded inside the building, Smith said.
Video from CNN affiliate WBBM shows the Chicago Police Department SWAT team at the scene.
CNN has reached out to the Marshals Service for comment.
The sheriff’s office is hoping Zimmerman will be detained and extradited to Mississippi so they can interview him about his escape, Smith said.
