Earlier this evening, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo gave an update on the search for escaped inmates Richard Matt (pictured below) and David Sweat in Malone, New York.
Governor Cuomo briefed the media this evening that at approximately 3:45 p.m. today, a member of law enforcement spotted, shot and killed a man believed to be Clinton Correctional Facility escapee Richard Matt. A positive identification is still pending. Law enforcement are still searching for escapee David Sweat.
VIDEO of the Governor’s remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV-quality (h264, mp4) format here.
A transcript of Governor Cuomo’s remarks is included below:
This afternoon, as has been reported, there was a civil complaint – civilian complaint in the Town of Duane. There was a gunshot that was fired at a camping trailer. The State Police responded to investigate the complaint. They came upon a cabin. They went inside the cabin. They detected the smell of gunpowder. The law enforcement partners were then notified and the Customs and Border Patrol tactical team helicoptered in and approached the site. The team came upon Matt, who was an escaped prisoner from Dannemora, engaged Mr. Matt, who was armed, and Mr. Matt was shot and killed.
We have no reason to believe that Mr. Sweat was not with Mr. Matt at the time, but we don’t have any confirming evidence that he was either. There are several leads that are being tracked down as we speak about Mr. Sweat and his possible whereabouts, but we don’t have anything to confirm where Mr. Sweat is at this time.
You never want to see anyone lose their life. But, I would remind people that Mr. Matt was an escaped murderer from a state prison. Mr. Matt killed two people who we know about. Mr. Matt killed his boss in a dispute and dismembered him. He fled to Mexico and then he killed another person in Mexico and was imprisoned in Mexico.
Mr. Sweat is also dangerous. Mr. Sweat was involved in the killing of a sheriff’s deputy in Broome County where the sheriff’s deputy had come upon a crime. Mr. Sweat and his accomplices hit the sheriff’s deputy with a car, got out and shot him 22 times and then ran over him. So these are dangerous, dangerous men and that is why you see law enforcement from across this country before you today cooperating with one mission: to bring these gentlemen to justice.
The New York State Police, the Department of Corrections Services, DEC, the FBI, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Vermont State Police, Clinton County District Attorney, the Franklin County District Attorney, the sheriffs from Franklin and Clinton, Plattsburgh City Police, Malone Village Police Department and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police are some of the law enforcement agencies participating in the manhunt.
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