The Danish inventor who is serving a life sentence in the murder of a Swedish journalist escaped from prison Tuesday by threatening that he was wearing a bomb — but was quickly surrounded by police, according to local reports.
Peter Madsen is seen on a video posted by the tabloid Ekstra Bladet surrounded by snipers as he sits on a grassy patch at the side of a road in Albertslund.
A police office watches Peter Madsen as he sits on the side of a road after being apprehended following a failed escape attempt in Albertslund, Denmark, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2020. (Nils Meilvang/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
A reporter with the outlet reported that he was wearing a belt-like device around his waist. Members of the bomb squad also responded to the scene.
WHO IS PETER MADSEN, THE DANISH INVENTOR CHARGED WITH MURDERING KIM WALL?
Madsen has been kept in isolation amid concerns that he would try and escape from the lockup, according to reports Tuesday.
Danish police have said a man has been arrested after an attempted escape and the area was cordoned off.
Local media reported the situation continued for at least an hour but the convict has now been driven away by officers.
Photos from the scene in Albertslund, Copenhagen, show Madsen sitting against a fence surrounded by armed police.
The self-taught Danish engineer, who was convicted of torturing and murdering a Swedish journalist on his homemade submarine in 2017 before dismembering her body and dumping it at sea, on Tuesday was captured after an attempted prison escape outside the suburban Copenhagen jail where he is serving a life-time sentence. (Nils Meilvang/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Two officers lie on their stomachs on the ground in front of him and it looks like he is wearing an object around his stomach.
Madsen had threatened prison guards with a “pistol-like object” and also claimed to have a bomb, according to Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.
KIM WALL KILLER PETER MADSEN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
In a recent interview for a documentary, the 49-year-old admitted to the crime for the first time, answering “yes” when asked him whether he had killed Kim Wall in August 2017 after he invited her on board his 60-foot UC3 Nautilus for an interview.
Wall was last seen waving to her boyfriend after boarding the vessel to report on a story about Madsen, well known in Denmark for raising money to build rockets and subs.
Police officers attend the scene after Peter Madsen was apprehended following a failed escape attempt in Albertslund, Denmark, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2020. (Nils Meilvang/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Her dismembered torso was found days later at sea off Copenhagen and other body parts were found in weighted bags in October.
Madsen had admitted to dismembering Wall but his story flip-flopped as to how she died. On the stand, he claimed the journalist died from breathing toxic fumes that had built up in the sub.
During the trial, prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen accused Madsen of torturing Wall as part of his violent sexual fantasies.
This article first appeared in the New York Post.