Authorities searching for teen after CHOP escape

Police are searching for a teenage murder suspect who escaped custody Wednesday while being brought to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Shane Pryor, 17, is “considered dangerous” and should not be approached, though he is not armed, PPD officials said. He had not been captured at the time Metro went to print Wednesday.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said he was incarcerated at the Juvenile Justice Services Center in West Philadelphia and taken to CHOP at around noon to get treated for a hand injury. As JJSC staff were escorting him out of the vehicle, he broke free and ran through the hospital’s emergency room parking lot, according to Vanore.

Pryor has been in custody since he was 14, having been charged with murder in October 2020. He is still awaiting trial, Vanore said.

Court documents obtained by Metro indicate that he arrested along with another teenager after a woman was found shot in the head in an alley behind the 7400 block of Torresdale Avenue in Holmesburg. That victim, 54-year-old Tanya Harris, died of her injuries.

Investigators, after reviewing surveillance video, determined that Pryor had entered multiple buildings near CHOP after his escape.

Vanore told reporters Wednesday afternoon that officers were searching parking garages and other buildings in the area. Authorities were also checking in with Pryor’s relatives in the Philadelphia region, he added.

U.S. Marshals, along with University of Pennsylvania police, were assisting in the operation, according to Vanore.

Pryor is described as a 5-foot 7-inch Black boy with a light complexion who weighs around 180 pounds, authorities said. Police said he was wearing a blue sweater, blue sweatpants and socks and slides at the time of the escape.

Anyone with information about Pryor’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or 215-686-8477.