Tactical team shoots escaped inmate holding woman at knife point at Mason hotel, prosecutor says

MASON — UPDATE @ 4:31 p.m. (July 12):

One of two inmates who escaped a corrections center in Camp Washington was shot to death by police following a nearly 12-hour standoff, according to the Warren County prosecutor.

David Fornshell, Warren County prosecutor, said Cromwell held a woman at knife point inside her hotel room. Cromwell also made statement that led police to believe her life was in danger, our news partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati report.

Fornshell said the woman held hostage was initially with him on her own free will, but Cromwell escalated things to a hostage situation when police attempted to contact him, WCPO reports.

“Ultimately they used lethal force against him,” Fornshell said.

Cromwell was killed by a single gunshot wound. Fornshell said the knife he allegedly used to hold the woman hostage was found next to his body.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been called to investigate the incident.

UPDATE @ 10:25 a.m. (July 12):

One of two escaped inmates from Hamilton County was found dead inside a Mason hotel following a nearly 12-hour standoff, according to the Warren County Coroner’s Office.

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Thomas Cromwell was one of two inmates who escaped the River City Correctional Center near Cincinnati and was found dead inside the Baymont Inn in Mason, our news partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati report.

Cromwell’s cause of death was not released and is considered an open investigation, the station reports.

Cromwell had been on the run since escaping from the facility July 9. SWAT units were called to the hotel Monday afternoon with the standoff spanning into the early morning hours Tuesday.

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Additional details were not released. We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

UPDATE @ 6:50 a.m. (July 12):

A SWAT standoff has ended after nearly 12 hours at Mason hotel, where escaped inmate Thomas Cromwell was last seen.

The whereabouts of the Cromwell are still unknown, according to our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati.

Around 2:00 a.m. SWAT entered the building and came out 30 minutes later with a woman in handcuffs.

We will continue to update this story as we learn more information.

INITIAL STORY (July 11):

Police and SWAT members have surrounded a hotel in Mason where officials said an escaped inmate is located, our news partners at WCPO are reporting.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said detectives went to the Baymont Inn near the site of the former Beach Waterpark in Mason to serve warrants for Thomas Cromwell’s arrest, according to WCPO. The sheriff’s office said it called Mason police and Warren County SWAT when Cromwell refused to cooperate.

Hotel guests said an employee went door-to-door, evacuating people from the building around 3 p.m., according to WCPO.

Cromwell, 27, escaped from the River City Correctional Center in Camp Washington with another inmate, 29-year-old Shawn Black, between midnight and 1 a.m. July 9, WCPO reported. The two were discovered missing when staff discovered bedding and clothes made in the shape of a person in Cromwell’s bed that morning.

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“We want to reiterate that Mr. Cromwell’s escape from River City Correctional Center was not under the supervision of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office,” spokesperson Kyla Woods said. “We were notified and asked to investigate the incident.”

Mason police are leading the SWAT situation.

News Center 7 will continue updating this story as we learn more.

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