Escaped New Hampshire inmate fatally shot by Miami Beach police in hostage situation

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — An inmate who escaped from a minimum security transitional housing unit in New Hampshire was fatally shot by a Florida police officer after he threatened two women with a knife, authorities said.

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Darien Young, 29, was killed by a Miami Beach police officer at a Victoria’s Secret store at 901 Lincoln Road, WPLG-TV reported. According to the television station, Young had been suspected of shoplifting when he took a woman and her daughter hostage at about 5:30 p.m. EDT.

Young was taken to an area hospital where he died, WTVJ reported. The two women were not injured, according to the television station.

According to a news release from the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, Young had escaped from the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester on July 21.

Young had been imprisoned in New Hampshire after being convicted for receiving stolen property, burglary, falsifying physical evidence and drug charges, the agency said. He was eligible for “minimum parole” beginning on Monday, prison officials said.

Young had a maximum release date of Jan. 31, 2028, according to New Hampshire officials.

“I was able to hear the gunshots. I heard the sound. I thought I was mesmerized a little bit,” Shanell Santiago, who works near the lingerie store, told WTVJ. “I was like, ‘Maybe it’s in my head right now’. I didn’t have music on. So it was clear as day.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, and the officer who fired the fatal shot is on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, WPLG reported.

“Our agents and analysts will establish a timeline, interview officers and witnesses, and review any video, including surveillance video, body-worn camera footage, and cell phone video,” the FDLE said in a statement. “FDLE’s investigation is limited to the shooting itself.”