Prosecutor: River City Correctional escapee held woman hostage during fatal SWAT standoff
An escaped River City Correctional Center inmate held a woman hostage during a SWAT standoff late Monday night at a Mason hotel, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.
During a news conference Tuesday, Fornshell said Thomas Cromwell, 27, was in a Baymont Inn room with a woman during the standoff. The two met the day before.
It was a consensual visit, Fornshell said, until Cromwell held the woman at knifepoint. Warren County Tactical Response Unit officers later entered the hotel room, where one fired a single fatal shot.
Authorities are not releasing the names of the woman or the officer who shot Cromwell. Fornshell said to his knowledge, there were no body cameras used during the incident.
More: Escaped River City inmate dead after SWAT standoff at Mason hotel, coroner says
Cromwell was one of two inmates who escaped from the Camp Washington facility Saturday. The other is Shawn Black, 29, who is still at large.
The SWAT situation began about 6:30 p.m. Monday at Baymont Hotel when Cromwell refused to surrender to deputies who arrived to arrest him three hours prior, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
Cromwell reportedly told police he was armed, which early investigations later determined to be with a knife, not a gun.
The SWAT standoff came after Cromwell and Black escaped from the correctional center in the early hours of Saturday. They left through a window that was broken and covered with plywood three days prior, though it is unknown who broke it.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting an investigation into Cromwell's death and that is still underway.
Though River City CorrectionalCenter is in Hamilton County, it is not the responsibility or under the supervision of the sheriff's office. It is governed by a board supervised by judges.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: River City escapee held a hostage during SWAT standoff in Mason
