A convicted killer is on the run this evening after he fled from the custody of prison officers with the aid of an armed accomplice, it has emerged.
The convict was cuffed to a prison officer during a scheduled visit from Wheatfield Prison to St James's Hospital in Dublin this morning.
An armed man confronted the officers in the hospital, pointing a sawn-off shotgun at a prison officer's head, ordering the removal of the convict's cuffs.
His long chain cuffs were removed and he immediately escaped on foot with his accomplice. However he was also wearing rigid cuffs and they remained on him when he escaped.
Prison officers gave chase but the pair got in to a waiting 01 Nissan Micra driven by a third party.
The convict, 22-year-old Derek Glennon of 250 Stanaway Road, Crumlin in Dublin, was serving a 5-year sentence for manslaughter. He killed a cyclist while driving a stolen car and was due for release in December next year.
A Prison Service spokesman said the convict had been out in the past without incident and that he had no other convictions for serious crime. He had a standard three-man escort at the time of his escape.
"There was nothing in this man's profile which suggested he posed a risk of this nature," the spokesman told ireland.com.
The armed accomplice is described as five feet, seven inches tall, with black hair. A description of the convict has not yet been made public.
An appeal has been issued for information and an incident room has been set up at Kilmainham Garda Station. It can be contacted on 01 - 666 9749/50.