A view from the entrance of Lurigancho prison in Lima, Peru on May 10, 2024. Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu via Getty Images

A 22-year-old thief named for the late John F. Kennedy has caused an uproar in Peru by escaping from prison, shouting out thanks to God as he dashed to freedom, according to video footage that has gone viral.

John Kennedy Javier Sebastian had been one of 10,000 inmates at Lima's Lurigancho prison -- Peru's most crowded, and built to hold 2,500.

On Monday night, he escaped from his cell, "bypassed security controls by climbing the perimeter fence, accessing the area called no man's land" and then climbed over the outer wall -- both topped with razor wire and security spikes, according to the INPE prisons service.

Sebastian had been serving a 10-year sentence for theft since mid-2023.

"Hallelujah, Christ lives!" the fugitive can be heard shouting euphorically as he reaches the main road and darts off, according to video captured by neighbors.

Gunshots and dogs can be heard in the background, but Sebastian manages to get away unscathed.

The head of the prison was dismissed after his escape, said the INPE, and security reinforced. Authorities launched a manhunt.

The prison's last escape took place in 2017.

Peru is experiencing a crime wave and last month the government declared its third state of emergency in less than a year, according to the Atlantic Council. In December 2024, the U.S. issued a security alert for Peru, and in 2022 the U.S. State Department noted that the U.S. "has rated Peru at a critically high risk level for crime" for over 15 years.

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