A Northern California homicide suspect who fled a Sacramento-area hospital while in custody and under guard was recaptured Monday afternoon, more than 24 hours after he escaped, authorities said.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that Eric Abril, 35, was caught around 12:20 p.m., hiding in a residential neighborhood a few miles away. He escaped custody around 3 a.m. Sunday.
In April, Abril was arrested in the shooting of a California Highway Patrol officer and two hostages, killing one, in a park in Roseville, according to police. He was charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder of a peace officer in connection with the Roseville park shooting. He was booked in the Placer County jail without bail.
On Thursday, Abril was taken to the Sutter Roseville Medical Center in an ambulance, but authorities did not say why.
He was seen on video in a city north of Roseville about 3:39 a.m. Sunday, after escaping from the hospital, Roseville police said.
Police asked residents in the area to “exercise extreme caution” and call 911 if they saw Abril. He was captured on video Sunday wearing no shirt and orange pants, authorities said.
Law enforcement is investigating how Abril escaped. He was supposed to be under 24-hour surveillance at the hospital, but he managed to get away from a deputy by running down a flight of stairs and out the doors.
More than 70 police from roughly a dozen law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, searched the area throughout the day using helicopters, drones, police dogs and armored vehicles to sweep through neighborhoods in the quiet suburbs.
