A man who escaped prison custody at the Royal Hobart Hospital while he was there for treatment has been found shot dead outside a home north of Hobart, police have confirmed.
Nicholas Aaron Scott, who has been in and out of prison for years with more than 20 criminal convictions, escaped custody late last night.
"About 10:50pm last night police received a call from Tasmania prison services in relation to a male who escaped custody while having treatment at the Royal Hobart Hospital," Detective Inspector Troy Morrisby said.
"Extensive efforts were made last night to try and locate that male."
He said police received a call at 1:30am about a gunshot at a home on Black Snake Road in Granton.
There, police found 26-year-old Scott's body outside the house and another man inside the house with non-life-threatening injuries.
The injured man, 20, was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital and is in a stable condition.
Detective Inspector Morrisby would not elaborate on the altercation, only to say "that will form part of our inquiries".
Black Snake Road is about 20 kilometres from the Royal Hobart Hospital.
Detective Inspector Morrisby said the "parties were known to each other".
"It wasn't a random attack or a random shooting."
Detective Inspector Morrisby would not comment on the specifics of the firearm used or whether it was registered.
"I can't go any further [into that] at this point in time."
He urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police.
"Always we seek support and information from members of the public who may have either seen anything in the area or they may have heard something in that area."
He acknowledged the incident was "understandably" concerning.
"I reassure the community that this incident was between people known to each other, and there is no threat to the wider community," he said.
Scott had more than 20 convictions to his name, including for motor vehicle stealing and attempted motor vehicle stealing.
Court records show he was sentenced in 2021 over a 2019 break-in at a Sandy Bay property where he caused thousands of dollars of damage, before punching a woman in the face and stealing her car.
He was ultimately arrested, and in sentencing, Justice Stephen Estcourt said he committed the crimes "while in the grip of a significant methylamphetamine addiction".
"The defendant has an extensive history of offending, particularly since 2010," Justice Estcourt said.
"He has been sentenced by this court to imprisonment on prior occasions and has reoffended over a number of years in a relatively consistent way.
"The defendant, however, is not without hope, in my view, of resetting his life. During his recent stay in prison, he has ceased to be dependent on drugs and has undertaken a course on how to avoid relapsing.
"He is also motivated to recreate a relationship with his son and is undertaking a parenting course."
Scott was sentenced to three and a half years in jail backdated to January 2020 but was granted parole in October 2021 after serving half the time.
At a later point, he entered back into custody and it was during this time that he escaped from prison officers at Royal Hobart Hospital.
