Laidlaw vanished following his car valeting shift on Monday afternoon, May 4, allegedly absconding from the prison shortly after 2pm. When last spotted, he was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt, blue cargo style trousers and white and blue trainers, police said. Police are deploying dogs and a drone to assist in tracking down the fugitive while scanning CCTV footage.
Members of the public are strongly advised not to approach Laidlaw. 30pm. He added that officers and dogs are doing land searches around the prison area, and a drone has been deployed.
Wrintmore said they are quickly working through CCTV footage and conducting numerous lines of enquiry. He noted that Laidlaw is not from the area, so at the moment they have no indication where he may be headed, or if he may have travelled from Yarm train station, either North or South. Wrintmore also said that while he understands there may be concerns, they do know Laidlaw has regularly been on day release from the prison, unsupervised.
Laidlaw, from the Hertfordshire area, was convicted of three attempted murders and imprisoned in 2007. He was transferred to Kirklevington Prison in 2024. He was on probation following an earlier racist attack when he carried out the 'shooting spree' in Islington and Finsbury Park.
The court heard that he 'threatened to kill all black people' before he was found guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Kamara, Mr Baptiste, and Ms Sheridan. Abu Kamara, a 44-year-old black social worker, was shot in the neck while making his way for an after-work drink. Later that same evening, Laidlaw opened fire on another black man, Evans Baptiste, in a bustling tunnel leading to Finsbury Park tube station, with Emma Sheridan caught in the crossfire.
He was additionally found guilty on two counts of firearm possession. The escape has prompted a large-scale search involving multiple police resources, and authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.