A gun possession suspect is on the loose after escaping NYPD custody while being cared for at a Manhattan hospital early Tuesday, police said.
Cops are scouring the city for 29-year-old Eric Cruz, who managed to slip away from the cop watching him at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia in Washington Heights about 8:45 a.m.
Cruz was last seen entering a nearby subway station and may have fled the borough, cops said.
Cops from the 33rd Precinct stopped Cruz for unlicensed vending in Washington Heights about 9:50 p.m. Monday, cops said. When they patted him down, they found a gun, cops said.
After officers charged him with weapon possession Cruz claimed to be ill. He was taken to the nearby hospital for treatment and escaped police custody the next morning while still in his hospital gown.
Cruz is described as 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. He fled wearing his hospital gown, a gray-and-black hoodie, black T-shirt and white sneakers, cops said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.