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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Tennessee man: Fugitive inmates surrendered without a word

Patrick Hale, the man credited by law enforcement with forcing the surrender of two Georgia prison escapees, speaks to reporters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Friday, June 16, 2017, while his wife, Danielle, looks on. Hale said he was carrying a loaded weapon but never pulled it out when the two inmates got face down on his concrete driveway without saying a word. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)
Patrick Hale, the man credited by law enforcement with forcing the surrender of two Georgia prison escapees, speaks to reporters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Friday, June 16, 2017, while his wife, Danielle, looks on. Hale said he was carrying a loaded weapon but never pulled it out when the two inmates got face down on his concrete driveway without saying a word. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Patrick Hale, the man credited by law enforcement with forcing the surrender of two Georgia prison escapees, speaks to reporters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Friday, June 16, 2017, while his wife, Danielle, looks on. Hale said he was carrying a loaded weapon but never pulled it out when the two inmates got face down on his concrete driveway without saying a word. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The man credited by law enforcement with holding two Georgia prison escapees at gunpoint says he’s no hero.

Patrick Hale says he was carrying a loaded weapon but never pulled it out. He says the two inmates took off their shirts and waved them as if they were surrendering, then got face down on his concrete driveway without saying a word.

He says they must have mistaken his car for a police cruiser, saying they look similar.

He says more than 45 police officers were there within minutes, and he says “I cannot tell you how grateful I was to see them arrive.”

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