MEXICO CITY (AP) — An attempted prison break early Thursday in Honduras left two inmates dead and three injured, authorities said. The Latin American country has long been plagued by gang violence and overcrowded prisons.
According to officials, a total of 72 prisoners took part in the attempted escape from the men's prison in the town of Tamara, about 19 miles (31 kilometers) from the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. They did not clarify how the casualties occurred.
Military police were called in to deal with the situation. The force's commander, Col. Ramiro Muñoz, said one of the prisoners died at the prison while the other died a while later, at a nearby hospital.
“Everything is now calm and in order,” Muñoz told local media. “This isn't going to set us back, there is no other prison in the world where this doesn't happen.”
Muñoz said that at around 4 a.m., the prisoners barricaded themselves inside a section of the prison to distract the guards. Military police responded, he said, without elaborating.
A forensic investigation would take place to dispel any speculation, Muñoz also said.
At the women’s prison in Tamara last year, a riot broke out that killed 46 women. The carnage led to calls for change to the country’s prison system and even talk of whether Honduras should emulate the drastic zero-tolerance, no-privileges prisons set up in neighboring El Salvador by President Nayib Bukele.
In June, Honduras President Xiomara Castro, announced the creation of a new 20,000-capacity “megaprison,” as part of the government’s larger crackdown on gang violence and efforts to overhaul the long-troubled prison system.
FILE - Military police guard the entrance to the National Penitentiary Center in Tamara, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez, File)
Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers has been offered an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to discuss his boarding and elbowing of Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
The in-person hearing, which can be held via Zoom as opposed to a phone call, allows senior vice president of player safety George Parros and his department to suspend Rempe for six or more games. The time and date of the hearing is to be determined, the league said Saturday.
Rempe, a 6-foot-8 forward, became a fan favorite last season in his rookie year for fighting some of the toughest veteran big men in a throwback to vintage enforcers who largely have disappeared from hockey. But he also ran afoul of the rules, getting ejected twice and receiving a four-game suspension for one of those situations: an elbow to the head of New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler.
That history factors in on the length of the suspension, along with injury and intent on the play that occurred with 13 minutes left in the third period Friday night. Heiskanen returned to skate four more shifts after going through concussion protocol, according to Stars coach Peter DeBoer, who called it a dangerous hit.
The game at Dallas was Rempe’s first back in the NHL after being recalled from the minors following the Rangers' trade of winger Kaapo Kakko to Seattle. Rempe spent the summer training to become a better fighter but also worked to become a better all-around player.
Now 22, Rempe has spent the vast majority of the season with Hartford of the American Hockey League. He played less than six minutes in the 3-1 win against the Stars, after which Rangers coach Peter Laviolette told reporters he thought Rempe “had a big impact on the game.”
“I’d like to stay away from the 5-minute major, but he’s doing his best to hit bodies and make a difference in the game,” Laviolette said. "Our guys really rallied around that at the end.”
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) slaps the puck away on an attack by New York Rangers' Matt Rempe (73) in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) controls the puck on an attack as Dallas Stars' Lian Bichsel, front right, attempts to break up the play in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) is escorted to the penalty box by official Tommy Hughes, before being ejected for game misconduct, in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) leaves the game after being ejected for game misconduct in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73), who was ejected for game misconduct, slams Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen (4) against the boards in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
