Accused Texarkana shooter escapes custody at CHRISTUS St. Michael; police searching St. Michael Drive area

TEXARKANA, Texas–Officers from at least eight agencies are searching for a man accused of firing more than 60 rounds into a Texarkana home after he escaped from a transport officer Wednesday night at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System.

Omarion Lamon Owens, 22, got away from the officer at the hospital, 2600 St. Michael Drive, around 9:20 p.m., according to scanner traffic. Deputies at the scene described him as extremely dangerous.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Bowie County sheriff’s deputies, Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas, police, Hooks and Nash police, Texas A&M University-Texarkana police and Texas game wardens are all at the scene.

Owens was last seen wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, but witnesses told officers he has since shed his clothing and may be wearing only boxers or nothing at all.

Officers have set up a perimeter around the St. Michael Drive area, including Galleria Oaks, Cowhorn Creek, the Arroyo neighborhood, Central Mall and the hotels near the convention center. K9 teams and a drone are searching the wooded area between Cowhorn Creek and Kennedy Lane. Tips have placed him near Olive Garden, the west-side hotels and the frontage road toward Summerhill Road.

Residents and hotel guests in the area are urged to lock their doors and vehicles, stay inside and not approach Owens. Anyone who sees him or someone matching his description should call 911 immediately.

Drivers should expect a heavy police presence around Central Mall and St. Michael Drive tonight and avoid the area if possible.

Charges

Owens is accused of shooting into a Texarkana home in March 2025, wounding a woman and her 10-year-old daughter as they slept. He faces charges including aggravated assault, injury to a child and aggravated robbery, and was being held in the Bowie County jail on $2.05 million bond.

This month he was also charged with possessing a deadly weapon in a penal institution after a sharpened shank was reportedly found in his cell, TXKtoday reported. Jail officials searched the cell after he allegedly posted a photo of the weapon on social media.

In June, Owens was one of three inmates charged with escape after they allegedly used pieces of blanket fabric to defeat the locks on their cell doors. They never made it outside the jail.

This is a developing story and will be updated.