ICE detainee escapes from JFK Airport

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - A man who was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escaped and ran out of John F. Kennedy Airport Tuesday night.

It happened inside Terminal 4 while the detainee was supposed to be boarding a commercial flight back to Senegal, Port Authority Police said.

Agents had removed handcuffs from Mohamadou Lamine Mbacke, 31, and were about to bring him on to a plane when he ran off at about 8:30 p.m., according to ICE.

Mbacke came to the United States legally in 2005 but later "violat[ed] the terms of his status," the agency said. An immigration judge in 2015 ordered him deported.

Agents and police searched the airport. Later, a check of surveillance video showed the man getting into a cab and leaving the terminal.

Mbacke has criminal convictions for weapons and firearms offenses, according to ICE.

He was last seen wearing a black or purple shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He is 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds.

"ICE along with state, federal and local authorities are currently actively seeking his whereabouts," an agency spokesperson said via email. "Members of the public should not attempt to apprehend him and instead immediately contact authorities."