Ohio school triple-murderer T.J. Lane caught hours after escape from prison

LIMA, Ohio -- Convicted Ohio school shooter T.J. Lane, who is serving a life sentence for killing three fellow students at his high school in 2012, was caught Thursday night hours after escaping from prison, media reports said.

"All available troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol have been joined by Allen County Sheriff's deputies and local area law enforcement in establishing a perimeter and searching the area," said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director John Born. "A Patrol helicopter with advanced infrared detection equipment has been deployed and is engaged in the search as well."

Residents had been advised to lock their doors and stay inside.

News media, citing law enforcement sources, began tweeting at about 10:30 p.m. (PT) that Lane had been caught.

The 19-year-old was wearing an Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution prison uniform when he escaped with fellow inmate Clifford E Opperud, 45. Opperud was reportedly still at large.

The Chardon Police Department said they are providing extra patrols to the families of T.J. Lane's victims and to people in the area, if they would like it. Chardon is about 190 miles away from Lima, where Lane was last seen.



The shooting and sentencing

On February 27, 2012, Lane walked into his the Chardon High School cafeteria with a .22-caliber gun and randomly started shooting. He fired 10 rounds.

Three students died, two others hospitalized and a third got nicked in the ear.

Chardon is a community of 5,100 people some 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Lane pleaded guilty last last year to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and weapons-related charges.

He was sentenced to consecutive sentences of life without parole and additional sentences totaling 37 years.

Lane wore a white T-shirt to his sentencing with "killer" written across the front.

Given the opportunity to speak, Lane made an obscene gesture at the victims' families and spoke to them briefly, using explicit language.

"For everyone in that courtroom -- the victims, their families, the prosecutors, defense -- everyone in that courtroom was just absolutely taken aback," said Friedman, who hasn't talked to Lane in about a year. "There was no way to fully comprehend what happened in the courtroom that afternoon."



This is a developing story and will be updated.

-- FOX 8 Cleveland and CNN contributed to this story