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Captured Convict David Sweat In Critical Condition

David Sweat, who escaped along with Richard Matt from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.
New York State Police
/
AP
David Sweat, who escaped along with Richard Matt from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.

David Sweat, one of two convicted murderers whose escape June 6 from a New York prison sparked a statewide manhunt, is in critical condition after being shot Sunday by a state police sergeant.

Sgt. Jay Cook spotted Sweat walking down a rural road near the town of Constable, N.Y., near the border with Canada, and ordered him to stop. When Sweat tried to flee, Cook shot him twice, authorities said.

"The nightmare is finally over," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a Sunday news conference.

Sweat's accomplice, Richard Matt, was shot and killed Friday near Malone, N.Y.

As the Two-Way reported Sunday:

"On June 6, Matt, 49, and Sweat, 35, used power tools and tunneled through a wall in their cell, climbed a catwalk, crawled through a steam pipe and emerged on the outside of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., in an extraordinary escape. It later emerged that the pair also had inside help.

"The hunt for the escaped convicts involved hundreds of local, state and federal officials who scoured dense forests dotted with hunting cabins, where the pair apparently sought shelter while on the run."

Reporter Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio tells our Newscast unit that people who live in the area are relieved. He says:

"In this remote corner of the Adirondack Mountains, people felt really isolated and vulnerable with two murderers on the loose — checkpoints and roadblocks everywhere — and it just went on and on. But there's celebration here now and a sense that this huge manhunt actually worked, keeping these men pinned down and preventing them from slipping away."

Officials say Sweat, who is in critical condition at Albany Medical Center, will be charged with escape, burglary and other charges.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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