The DC Metropolitan Police Department is searching for a homicide suspect who escaped custody at a university hospital on Wednesday.

Police identified the suspect as Christopher Haynes, 30, who escaped shortly after 3:30 p.m. from the George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC's Foggy Bottom neighborhood.

Haynes has been charged in a homicide investigation, the police department told CNN. He was last seen with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist. He is described as a Black man with "shoulder-length dreadlocks."

Police told CNN they believe Haynes discarded his jail-issued jumper and is now wearing a "black T-shirt and a grey shorts underneath a white body suit." He also has a prominent Washington "W" tattoo on the front of his neck, police said.

A DC government emergency alert says to "use caution" as Haynes is considered armed and dangerous.

The US Secret Service said its uniformed division is also helping with the search for Haynes. US Park Police, a federal agency, is assisting DC police in the search as well, according to spokesperson Sgt. Tom Twiname.

There are some temporary, precautionary road closures around the White House as police search for the suspect, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

Roughly 20 minutes after his escape, George Washington University issued a "shelter in place" order for its city campus, the university said in a statement on its website. The university said it hadn't received any reports of anyone harmed in the GWU community.

A George Washington University Hospital spokesperson said the hospital remains "fully operational" and is coordinating with local authorities.