Escaped Mississippi Inmate Shot Dead By Family He Held Hostage: Police

A Mississippi inmate, whose escape March 2 had the town of Vicksburg on high-alert for more than a week, died Thursday after being shot by the family he was holding captive, according to police.

Rafael McCloud, 34, held up a man and his 5-year-old son at knife point as they were leaving their garage, according to a Vicksburg Police Department press release, and forced them inside. He asked who else was inside and the man said his 24-year-old wife was also there, police said.

The 30-year-old man was bound in the bathroom but freed himself and was stabbed in a struggle with McCloud, who "took control" of the man again, police said.

Police did not name the man, his wife or their son.

McCloud eventually held the family of three in the bathroom, police said, but at some point "the wife was allowed to leave."

She returned with a handgun and shot McCloud, police said.

She cut her husband's bounds and gave the gun to him, police said, and he shot McCloud again. The family found someone on the street to call 911, and police found McCloud's dead body in the family's bath tub with multiple gun shot wounds.

McCloud had been in jail on murder, rape, burglary, arson, auto theft and felon in possession of a firearm charges.

Image via Vicksburg Police Department