Ten inmates, including several accused of murder, escaped from a New Orleans jail early Friday morning by tearing out a toilet and crawling through a wall, leaving behind taunting graffiti reading “To Easy LoL,” authorities said.
According to the BBC, the Orleans Parish Jail, which is just two miles from the French Quarter, has a history of security lapses and overcrowding. The latest escape comes amid increased scrutiny of jail conditions and staffing levels.
The jailbreak occurred early Friday morning, when inmates in a shared cell dismantled part of the facility’s plumbing system and escaped through a utility wall.
According to Sheriff Susan Hutson, the inmates broke a sliding door off its tracks, removed a toilet, and cut through metal bars in a wall that concealed plumbing infrastructure. In a mocking twist, messages such as “To Easy LoL” and a drawn smiley face were discovered scrawled near the escape route.
Authorities believe the operation was assisted from the inside, citing “clean cuts” on metal bars.
As of Saturday, one escapee, Kendall Myles, had been apprehended. He was apprehended in the French Quarter after being identified through facial recognition and discovered hiding beneath a car. The remaining nine, described as “armed and dangerous,” remain at large.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and US Marshals, have joined the manhunt. Officials have also notified victims linked to the escapees’ cases.