A prisoner escaped Sunday morning while attending his appointment at a physical therapy clinic at Dammam Central Hospital with the assistance of other individuals, said Maj. Abdullah Al-Harbi, spokesman for the Directorate of Public Prisons.

Al-Harbi said that the detainee was being examined at the hospital when his aides broke into the clinic and started shooting at security guards on the premises. They managed to enable the prisoner to run away with them, he added.

The attackers, according to Al-Harbi, shot a security guard twice in his leg and thigh. The guard was admitted to hospital and is currently in stable condition. Authorities have launched an intensified search operation to catch the prisoner and his accomplices.