Image Source: BBC
Second New York State prison escapee David Sweat is now in police custody after being shot, according to US officials report.
Convicted murderer Sweat, 35, had been shot twice and captured less than two miles (3km) from the Canadian border. His partner in crime ams prison-break Richard Matt, 49, was killed by police on Friday. The duo had reportedly escaped around some three weeks ago from the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora through the sewer system after using power tools to break out of their cell.
Sweat was shot and seized in the town of Constable on Sunday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo told in his statement to a news conference. He stated that Sweat was shot twice in the torso and was now in hospital in stable condition. The convict was spotted by a police officer on patrol and shot when he tried to run away. “The nightmare is finally over,” the governor remarked.
The Buffalo News website earlier quoted a source who said that the convict’s wound were “life-threatening” and he was bleeding badly.
Matt was shot dead near the town of Malone. The pair had been making their way through rugged forests in upstate New York, stealing food and guns from woodland cabins along the way. US officials, besides the two convicted, have charged prison worker Joyce Mitchell with aiding the two inmates in their escape.
Matt was serving a prison sentence of 25 years to life for the killing and dismembering of his former boss. Sweat was serving a life sentence for murdering a sheriff’s deputy.
The timeline of the happenings:
5 June: David Sweat and Richard Matt escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
6-7 June: Possible sighting of pair in Dannemora.
9 June: Search focuses on Willsboro area after another possible sighting.
10 June: Police close off Route 374 between Dannemora and Cadyville and search expands to neighbouring Vermont.
11 June: Police dogs find food wrapper and footprint at suspected camp site near Dannemora.
15 June: Prison worker Joyce Mitchell pleads not guilty to aiding the prisoners.
24 June: Prison worker Gene Palmer charged with aiding the prisoners.
25 June: Richard Matt is shot and killed near the Canadian border.
27 June: David Sweat shot and captured near Canadian border.
