Texas man who killed father escapes from mental hospital, considered ‘armed and dangerous,’ police say

A man acquitted of murdering his father by reason of insanity is being sought after escaping from a medical facility near the Texas-Oklahoma border this week where he was committed.

The Vernon Police Department said medical staff at the North Texas State Hospital informed them on Monday that Alexander Scott Ervin was missing. He is considered armed and dangerous, police said. 

Ervin left his dormitory room around 9 p.m. Sunday and scaled the hospital’s 8-foot security fence before fleeing on foot, according to a review of the hospital’s security video.

In 2014, Ervin was found not guilty in Travis County of murdering his father, Ray Scott Ervin, in Austin. 

TEXAS POLICE SHOOT AND KILL ARMED MAN IN DALLAS-AREA HOSPITAL

The younger Ervin’s brother testified that the suspect attacked their father with a pipe wrench and a folding knife, saying Ray Ervin was an imposter. He also claimed to be a trained member of the CIA on a mission to kill his father. 

“When he’s off his meds, there’s no telling what will happen. And I’m terrified that he will get hurt. And I’m terrified that somebody in the community will get hurt,” said Leslie Ervin, his mother, Fox Dallas reported. “He’s still my son and I still will defend him to my dying breath. And I will do whatever I can to make him safe.”

As recently as this April, a magistrate ordered Ervin’s commitment to continue at a state mental hospital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.