Shane Pryor, escaped Philadelphia prisoner, was charged with murder of Tanya Harris in 2020
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's now the second day of the search for 17-year-old Shane Pryor, a Philadelphia prisoner who escaped custody at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Police say Pryor, an inmate at the Juvenile Justice Center in West Philadelphia, escaped from staff just before noon Wednesday in CHOP's emergency room parking lot at 34th and Spruce Streets. He'd been brought there to treat a hand injury.
Police say after exiting the car, Pryor then moved in and out of buildings nearby.
Law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service in Philadelphia, believe Pryor has approached several people and asked them to borrow their cellphone. It's not clear if he was able to contact anyone since escaping.
Pryor's mother told CBS News Philadelphia she wants her son to turn himself in — but she knows he ran "because he's just scared."
"He's been in there since he was 14, he still has a 14-year-old mentality, even though he's 17," she added.
She feels her son is innocent and that the juvenile justice system has failed her family.
"There was a co-defender involved in the case who may be the shooter, and Shane is terrified of him and he's at the prison where Shane is, may likely go in two weeks. That's what he's scared of. That's what he's running away from," Pryor's mother told CBS News Philadelphia's Alicia Roberts.
Police say Pryor is 5 feet 7 inches tall, 150 pounds, and was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call 911 or call tips to 1-877-WANTED-2.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to his arrest.
"This is a case where if he's innocent, he's maintained his innocence all along, let's prove that in court. We need to follow the procedure and not just be on the run. Whether he's scared or whatever reason, he needs to turn himself in," Paul DiMaio, Pryor's attorney, said.
New video of Pryor's escape from CHOP
A new video released Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Pryor in a building across the street from where police say he initially escaped Wednesday just before noon.
The agency says the 17-year-old ran into the lobby of the CHOP Hub for Clinical Collaboration asking to use a phone.
However, they say the employee didn't let him, and then Pryor is seen leaving. This all happened just five minutes after police say the teenager ran from the parking lot of CHOP's emergency department.
By 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service believes Pryor "obtained transportation" and left University City.
Sources told CBS News Philadelphia that the ride dropped him in the area of Broad Street and Glenwood Avenue around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Both occupants of the car were taken in for questioning and were cleared and released, sources say, because they were unaware he escaped from custody.
Pryor's mother and lawyer say they haven't heard from him.
Pryor awaiting trial for murder of Tanya Harris in Philadelphia
Pryor and a co-defendant have been in custody since 2020 for a murder in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia.
Investigators believe Pryor shot Tanya Harris in the head after he and another male tried to solicit sex from her on the night of Oct. 10, 2020.
According to an affidavit of probable cause in the case, Harris' body was found in an alcove in the alley behind a business on Torresdale Avenue near Shelmire Street after 10 p.m. that night.
The court document says detectives found surveillance footage from a nearby business that showed the woman with a boy in a Gap-branded hoodie around 6 p.m.
Then around 50 minutes later, the woman was seen on video with two boys in an alcove behind the business on Torresdale Avenue — the location where her body was eventually found.
About 10 minutes after that, the two boys are seen running from the area, and then return later — seemingly, to search it.
Police say Pryor was identified as the boy in the Gap hoodie.
Five days later, he was stopped in the neighborhood and gave police officers a fake name before attempting to flee.
Investigators say they later got permission from Pryor's mother to speak to him.
Pryor told police he solicited sex from Harris, but said another male, ages 25-30 and dressed all in black, was the one who shot Harris. Pryor said he was not aware of the man's name.
Investigators later found the male Pryor was seen with on surveillance footage was about 14 or 15 years old — not an adult.
