Escape during a doctor's visit

Two prison officers were taking a 34-year-old prisoner from the Essen prison to a doctor's practice on Kennedyplatz in the city centre on Wednesday, 14 October. A police spokeswoman said the attack happened around 12:45, and police had planned the transfer for midday. According to dpa, masked attackers overpowered the officers in the hallway of the building, and one officer drew his weapon during the scuffle before it was knocked out of his hand. Tagesschau reported that the helpers overpowered the escort staff but did not injure them. Welt, citing Bild, said the officers were also disarmed and handcuffed before the attackers fled with the prisoner.

Manhunt and public warning

The prisoner and his two helpers initially ran in different directions, but police later described the three men as fleeing together. Police mounted a large operation across the city centre and asked residents to stay alert. In a post on X, the force urged people not to approach anyone who looked suspicious and to call 110 at once.

If you notice a suspicious person, do not approach them! Call 110 immediately. Arming of the perpetrators cannot currently be ruled out.

A police spokeswoman said weapons could not be ruled out, and officers were still searching the area when the latest reports were filed. Witnesses were asked to come forward, and tagesschau said the search for the prisoner was ongoing.

Suspicious object near the scene

A witness reported an object that looked like a hand grenade on a car in a side street a few hundred metres from Kennedyplatz. Police closed the street and evacuated neighbouring buildings, and a bomb disposal team from the Landeskriminalamt was sent to Essen. The team found that the object was a wooden replica of a hand grenade. Police did not say whether it was linked to the escape, and it remained unclear who had left it there. The side street stayed closed after the all-clear for the object, as the search for the prisoner continued.

The sequence of reports from the first hours is charted below.

Prisoner and open questions

The North Rhine-Westphalia justice ministry told dpa that the prisoner had been held in remand custody in Essen on suspicion of drug offences and grievous bodily harm. Bild described the drug charge as drug dealing, and Der Tagesspiegel attributed that account to Bild rather than to police. Bild also reported that police assume at least one pistol was taken, a detail no police statement in the reports confirmed. Dpa reported that the two unidentified helpers have not been named in the reports so far, and the sources do not say how dangerous the prisoner could be. The reports also do not give a full account of how the attack unfolded, and the search for the three men was still running when the latest reports were filed.