The inmate freed by two accomplices at a Hamilton hospital has been recaptured following a brief chase, Hamilton police say.

In a news release issued Friday evening, police said they captured Fawad Nouri at 6 p.m.

An officer responded to a suspicious person report from a person in a shopping plaza on Hamilton Mountain. The officer spotted a man with a hoodie and partially covered face, police said.

When the officer tried to approach the man, the suspect bolted, with the officer chasing him for several blocks. The suspect stopped fleeing and raised his hands, police said.

Samantha Coddington said her manager witnessed the chase: "My manager was just getting something out of her car. He ran right past her, and the cop was chasing him behind -- and there was cop cars everywhere at the back."

Upon taking him into custody, a replica handgun was recovered, along with handcuffs, Insp. Bill Stewart told a news conference.

Nouri will appear in court on Saturday to answer to a charge of escaping custody.

In addition, they announced the arrest of Didar Kader, 19. He has been charged with aiding at escape from lawful custody. Kader will appear in court on Saturday.

Earlier, they announced a Hamilton man has been arrested and charged with assisting Nouri in his dramatic escape earlier this week. They also seized a car they believe the suspects used as a getaway vehicle.

Police received numerous tips after Nouri escaped from custody on Tuesday with the help of two armed gunmen, according to investigators.

The tips led police to two homes in Hamilton. Investigators executed search warrants at an address on Quigley Road and on Thorley Drive. A car that matched the description of the getaway vehicle - a silver Hyundai Tiburon - was found at one of the homes.

A 19-year-old suspect, Shaddy Milhim, was arrested and charged with aiding in escaping lawful custody.

Nouri, 25, was leaving a Hamilton hospital when the two unarmed jail guards that were accompanying him were forced to the ground by the gunmen.

"That was a scenario you see in a movie, but you never think it's going to happen in your own home town," Hamilton resident Ryan Lindley said Friday at the plaza where Nouri was spotted.

The prisoner and the two suspects fled the scene using the Ministry of Corrections van but police found the vehicle about six blocks away a short time later. Witnesses told police they saw the group drive away in a silver Tiburon.

Nouri was at the hospital to be treated for a bullet wound that he suffered during an alleged armed
robbery at a Tim Horton's earlier this year.

The man was on his way back to the Hamilton/Wentworth Detention Centre Tuesday morning where he has been awaiting trial on numerous charges, including armed robbery and forcible confinement.

Nouri, a Middle Eastern man, is described as being 6'1", about 163 lbs. with an olive complexion.

Investigators had vague descriptions of the alleged accomplices but believed they are also of Middle Eastern background. Both men wore surgical masks and were carrying black handguns.

Police had warned the public to call 911 but not to approach any of the men as they were considered armed and dangerous.

They had offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.

Police have said they want to find out how the two accomplices knew precisely when Nouri would be at the hospital.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Michelle Dube