PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. – FOX 5 News has confirmed two prison guards have been shot and killed in Putnam County, and prisoners are now on the run.
Authorities said the shooting happened just before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday on Georgia Highway 16. According to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, prisoners were being transported on a bus when an inmate on the bus opened fire and killed two guards.
#escape GDC; 2 ofcrs down; 2 inmates escaped frm custody enroute in Putnam Co; DON’T APPROACH CALL 911 @wmaz @cbs46 @wsbtv @ajc @telegraphga pic.twitter.com/6YWj9K3yuS
— Georgia Corrections (@GA_Corrections) June 13, 2017
A witness told investigators two inmates fled the scene in a 2004 dark green Honda Civic (GA tag RBJ660) after the shooting.
The escaped inmates have been identified as Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose. Authorities are warning anyone who sees them to call 911.
Two Georgia corrections officers were shot and killed Tuesday by a pair of inmates who then fled, according to reports.
The incident occurred around 7:23 a.m. along Highway 16 near Sparta.
The inmates, identified as Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky DuBose, were on prison work detail at the time and fled in a dark green Honda that they carjacked shortly after, CBS 46 reported.
“I can confirm that we are currently looking for two white males in a dark green Honda Civic that have escaped and they are armed,” said Putnam County sheriff’s spokeswoman Teresa Slade.
Rowe, 43, and Dubose, 24, were both serving sentences at Baldwin County Prison for armed robbery and other charges. Rowe had been incarcerated since June 2002 and Dubose had been in prison since July 2015.
Both men were on work detail when they overpowered the corrections officers, who were driving a transport bus, CBS 46 said.
Rowe and Dubose disarmed one of the officers before shooting them both.
The escaped inmates are believed to be armed with the .40 caliber Glock pistols they stole from the officers.