Escaped Prisoner Richard Matt Shot And Killed; David Sweat Still At Large
MALONE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- One of two inmates who escaped from an upstate New York prison three weeks ago was shot and killed Friday afternoon.
At a news conference Friday evening in upstate Malone, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said multiple law enforcement officers discovered Matt after coming to investigate gunfire that struck a camper vehicle. He was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol Malone.
The second escaped inmate, David Sweat, was still on the loose late Friday. It was not clear whether he was with Matt at the time, but Sweat has not been spotted, officials said.
Cuomo noted that "you never want to see anyone lose their life," but emphasized that Sweat and Matt are "dangerous, dangerous men, and that's why you see law enforcement from across this country… cooperating with one mission to bring these gentlemen to justice."
Sen. Charles Schumer told CBS2 there is "pretty good certainty that they are in pursuit of Sweat now."
Matt and Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6.
New York State Police Supt. Joseph D'Amico said early Friday afternoon, search teams received a report that a camper vehicle had been struck by gunfire. The owners heard a sound and thought maybe they had a flat tire, but went outside to discover that gunfire had struck the back, D'Amico said.
The owners of the recreational vehicle pulled into a campsite and called New York State Police, who found that the shooting had happened about eight miles back, D'Amico said.
Cellphone video showed a massive response, sirens blaring, cars speeding down Route 30 toward Malone -- just 10 miles from the Canadian border, and about 40 miles from the Clinton Correctional Facility, CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
Officers began a search and came upon a cabin with a smell of gunpowder inside. They also noted that someone had recently fled out the back door, D'Amico said.
Officers then began a ground search and detected movement and the sound of coughing, D'Amico said.
"The Customs and Border Patrol tactical team helicoptered in, and approached the site. The team came upon Matt," Cuomo said.
A tactical team from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that had helicoptered in met up with Matt in the woods off Route 30 in Malone and challenged him, and he was shot and killed by one of their officers, Cuomo and D'Amico said.
"They verbally challenged him; told him to put up his hands. And at that time, he was shot when he didn't comply," D'Amico said.
A 20-gauge shotgun was recovered, he said.
The search for Sweat continued Friday night "The last positive sighting of Sweat (was) at the time of his escape," D'Amico said.
Sweat was still believed to be armed and dangerous, according to Cuomo and D'Amico.
"This was the first escape from this prison in the prison's history, and this is a prison that goes back about 100 years, and these are truly armed and dangerous people, and we will what we have to do to bring them to justice, and that's exactly what you see before you tonight," Cuomo said.
A CBS News law enforcement source said the search is continuing for Sweat in a contained area of about a mile and a half, but which keeps shifting as areas become cleared. The source said they have officers every 25 yards along the perimeter which is considered tight.
Police have brought in flood lights and the searchers have night-vision goggles that light up the night significantly, and also have canines, the source said.
The source said that police believe Sweat is armed, and they believe that Sweat and Matt had been together earlier Friday afternoon.
Watch: Sen. Charles Schumer Offers Update On Prison Escape
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said authorities tracked Matt down after underwear was found in a hunting cabin on Thursday.
Then, a knock on the door of a home in the same area around 2 a.m. prompted a woman at the home to call police, Schumer said. She did not answer the door.
The lawmaker told CBS2 police K-9s immediately picked up the scent of the prisoners and led them to where Matt was fatally shot.
Earlier Friday, hundreds of officers looking for the two convicted murderers shifted the focus of their search slightly northwest to woods and fields around Malone, about 10 miles from the Canadian border and about 30 miles northwest of the prison.
Watch: Gov. Cuomo Offers Update On Prison Escape
State Police Maj. Charles Guess said Friday the shift came after investigators developed evidence left behind by the escapees. Items were found Thursday at a cabin and Friday morning in a field, both in the town of Malone, he said.
While Guess would not elaborate on the evidence, he made it sound like a break in the often-frustrating 21-day, around-the-clock search for the two killers.
Matt and Sweat had broken out of the prison using power tools and leaving behind dummies in the beds in their adjoining cells, CBS2's Dana Tyler reported.
The pair even left behind a taunting note for officials to find.
The men lived in a so-called honor section of the prison, allowing them to cook their own food.
It's now believed power tools smuggled in a frozen chunk of hamburger meat allowed the pair to construct an elaborate escape route.
Two days after the escape a civilian prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, was accused of being an accomplice.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said Mitchell told investigators she smuggled hacksaw blades, a screwdriver and other tools into the prison by placing them in frozen hamburger meat. The prison tailor shop instructor has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.
This week, correction officer Gene Palmer was also arrested for his involvement in the escape.
Wylie said Mitchell placed the contraband-filled meat in a refrigerator in the tailor shop where she worked and Palmer took the meat to Sweat and Matt, who were housed in a section where inmates are allowed to cook their own meals.
The district attorney said the guard didn't know the tools were inside the meat.
Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnapping, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.
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