A hospitalized inmate grabbed a corrections officer's gun and shot him early Thursday, then ran from the hospital and carjacked a taxi before crashing about 5 miles away, police said.
The inmate fled on foot after the crash in State Line, Pa., but was quickly captured near a FedEx complex north of Hagerstown.
Corrections department spokeswoman Jacquelyn Lampell said the officer was shot in the head and was in intensive care being stabilized before surgery. She said the officer worked at the Roxbury Correctional Institution, one of three nearby prisons for men that houses medium-security inmates.
Details about the shooting remained sketchy, but police said it occurred about 5 a.m.
Washington Hospital spokeswoman Marina Shannon said patient care had not been affected but declined further comment on the gunfire.
"Our first priority is to our patients and our staff," Shannon said.
Police said the inmate was in custody but provided no further information about the inmate or the reason the inmate had been taken to Washington Hospital.
