A prisoner who tried to escape a police station by setting off a fire extinguisher was gunned down by cops in a sheriff’s office.

Suspect Aaron J. Sealy, 30, was shot just after midnight at the sheriff’s office in McLeansboro, in Southern Illinois, located in the central US, on 20th October.

Video footage of the drama – released by the Illinois State police -shows Sealy sitting on a chair in the police office and loosening his handcuffs.

He manages to take off one of them and waits for a bit, before suddenly getting up, picking up the fire extinguisher and setting it off in the office.

Both deputy sheriffs open fire and he falls to the ground.

After the shooting, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office asked Illinois State Police to investigate.

Both officers had ordered Sealy to drop the fire extinguisher before opening fire, hitting him once, according to state police.

Officers provided aid to Sealy until he was transported to a hospital.

Sealy was in critical but stable condition after the shooting.

On Monday, he went back into the custody of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.

Sealy had been arrested on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle, controlled substances and use of crystal meth.