An “extremely dangerous” felon accused of attempted murder escaped from an Oregon mental hospital Wednesday night after he commandeered a staffer’s car in full shackles and slippers.
Christopher Lee Pray, 39, was being driven by medical staff to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem when he took control of the vehicle and sped off at 10:30 p.m., a spokesperson for the facility told The Oregonian.
Pray led state troopers on a high-speed car chase on Interstate 5 southbound for some time, but the officers ultimately pulled back out of safety concerns, the local newspaper reported.
“Pray is considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached,” Oregon State Police said in a statement, asking anyone who spots him to immediately dial 911.
The inmate is facing charges of first-degree robbery, attempted aggravated murder, assault and felon in possession of a firearm in connection to an armed robbery and shooting in which he is accused of nearly killing a woman in Multnomah County, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
He has served time behind bars before and has at least 16 previous felony convictions on his record for charges including first-degree robbery, being an inmate with a weapon, smuggling contraband into prison and resisting arrest, according to the Oregonian.
It’s unclear how Pray was able to grab the wheel from the hospital worker while wearing handcuffs connected to shackles on his legs and a belly chain.
One of the employees was injured in the process, police said.
Before his daring escape, the suspect had gotten into an “altercation” with another patient at the state hospital and needed medical attention. He was transferred to a local emergency room and was heading back when he fought his way to the driver’s seat and stole the white minivan, the local newspaper reported.
He was last seen driving the state vehicle, a white 2016 Dodge Caravan, bearing Oregon license plate E265614, heading southbound on Interstate 5 and has ties to the greater Portland, state police said.
He was last seen wearing a white shirt, sweatpants and rubber slippers
Pray was behind bars at the Multnomah County jail before he was placed in the state hospital earlier Wednesday.
