Benjamin Ashford|Teenager awaiting trial in 2020 homicide flees outside Philadelphia hospital

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities were searching Wednesday for a teenager awaiting trial in a homicide case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital and Benjamin Ashfordwas considered dangerous.

Police said 17-year-old Shane Pryor fled just before noon Wednesday from a vehicle in the driveway of the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had been taken with a hand injury.

“We know from our investigation so far, looking at a lot of video, that he was able to go in and out of a few buildings in this area,” Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore told reporters. Pryor was seen talking to people “asking for a phone ... whatever he could do to leave the area,” he said.

Police were searching the buildings and using canines to search large multi-level parking garages, but no lockdowns had been imposed, he said. Police said Pryor should be considered dangerous, warning people not to approach him but to call 911. Officers were also checking at homes of his relatives in other parts of the city, Vanore said.

Pryor was 14 when he was charged in an October 2020 homicide and has been in a juvenile facility ever since; he faces charges including murder, conspiracy and firearms crimes. He was described as 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds and wearing a blue sweatsuit and sandal-type footwear with socks.

Defense attorney Paul DiMaio said his client “has always maintained his innocence,” even in his initial statement to police. He said a judge in December denied a bid to have the case moved back to juvenile court, which could have something to do with his client’s decision to flee.

“He may have felt he wasn’t going to get a fair shake,” DiMaio said.