Escaped South Carolina Inmate Captured by Police After Officer Stabbing
Police said Michael Alan Williamson was captured in Lexington this morning.
— -- An inmate serving a life sentence in a South Carolina prison who escaped from custody Wednesday night has been captured, according to police.
The inmate, identified as 47-year-old Michael Alan Williamson, escaped from the McCormick Correctional Institution, a medium/maximum level prison in McCormick, South Carolina, at approximately 8:50 p.m. local time. Williamson is believed to have then traveled dozens of miles to Columbia, the state capital, where he allegedly stabbed a female police officer who was responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart just before 10 p.m., authorities said.
Police said the officer, whose name has not been released, was transported to a local hospital. She was treated for two stab wounds to her left arm and shoulder. She is in stable condition and is expected to recover, police said.
“She’s ready to get back in the fight,” said Columbia Police Chief William “Skip” Holbrook.
Williamson was captured Thursday morning before 11 a.m. local time on Sunset Boulevard in the town of Lexington, according to the Columbia Police Department. A parent at a middle school in Lexington notified the school resource officer that she had seen a "suspicious male" dressed in black and wearing a mask walking on a nearby street, according to the Lexington Police Department.
After the school resource officer notified police, a responding officer saw the man walking in the roadway and asked him to remove his black mask. When he did, the officer recognized him as Williamson, who then fled into the woods. Police eventually captured Williamson and took him into custody after he attempted to enter another school in town.
Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green commended the witness who alerted the school resource officer to Williamson.
"I am pleased that our officers were able to arrest this dangerous felon and bring to a close the extensive search that had been going on since last night," Green said. "For our citizens, this also highlights the importance that when you see someone or something that just doesn’t look right, please call the police. Like in today’s arrest, it can make all the difference.”
Holbrook thanked law enforcement partners for assisting in the hours-long manhunt.
“They didn’t hesitate,” he said at a press conference.
Authorities said Williamson will not return to the McCormick facility.
Authorities concluded that the escaped inmate and the suspect in the assault on the officer are the same person.
“In working with Columbia law enforcement officials, it was determined that inmate Williamson is a suspect in a shoplifting incident and assault on a Columbia police officer at a Walmart on Bush River Road on Wednesday night,” South Carolina Department of Corrections representative Sommer Sharpe told ABC News.
According to correctional records, Williamson was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 for armed robbery and was also convicted in 1997 of assault and battery with intent to kill. His prison records also show several disciplinary actions for use or possession of unauthorized drugs, smuggling of contraband and other infractions.
ABC News’ Rachel Katz, Devin Villacis and Jason Volack contributed to this report.