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Police Shoot, Kill Fugitive Richard Matt; Fellow Escapee David Sweat On Run

This story has been updated.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo givses an update on the search for escaped inmate David Sweat following the shooting death of fellow escapee Richard Matt.

Photo Credit: YouTube
Escaped murderer Richard Matt, left, has reportedly been killed by state police. Fellow escapee David Sweat is still being pursued by police.

Escaped murderer Richard Matt, left, has reportedly been killed by state police. Fellow escapee David Sweat is still being pursued by police.

Photo Credit: New York State Police
The red icon shows Malone, N.Y., where police shot and killed Richard Matt and where fellow escapee David Sweat is believed to be still at large.

The red icon shows Malone, N.Y., where police shot and killed Richard Matt and where fellow escapee David Sweat is believed to be still at large.

Photo Credit: Google Maps
Richard Matt was serving a sentence of 25 years to life following his conviction in Niagara County after he kidnapped a male victim and caused his death by beating him on Dec. 3, 1997.

Richard Matt was serving a sentence of 25 years to life following his conviction in Niagara County after he kidnapped a male victim and caused his death by beating him on Dec. 3, 1997.

Photo Credit: New York State Police

DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- Escaped murderer Richard Matt has been shot and killed by state police in upstate New York and authorities are now in hot pursuit of fellow escapee David Sweat, according to state police.

The shooting of the 49-year-old Matt reportedly occurred around Route 31 in Malone, N.Y., about 38 miles north of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, where the two escaped on June 6 and about 14 miles north of Mountain View, the location of the first of two hunting cabins in which DNA tests came up as a match for the fugitives. The other cabin the two are believed to have burglarized was in Malone, the site of Friday's shooting of Matt.

One or more of the escapees reportedly shot at a camper van in a possible car-jacking attempting in the Malone, N.Y. area. The camper then called 911 to report the incident, leading to the discovery of Matt and a subsequent shootout with a police border tactical team at approximately 3:45 p.m. Matt was reportedly armed with a shotgun, believed to have been stolen from one of the hunting cabins.

While the search for the 34-year-old Sweat is intense, authorities reportedly "do not have eyes" on him at this time, CNN reports. Authorities have set up a perimeter in the search for Sweat.

The development comes just a few hours after a state police briefing disclosed the latest DNA match at a second cabin, prompting authorities to suspect the two were headed to Canada. Malone, N.Y., is located about 30 miles south of the Canadian border and the Cornwall, Ontario, area.

The two escaped from the Clinton Correction Facility on Saturday, June 6, prompting a massive manhunt that has cost approximately $1 million per day. More than 1,100 law enforcement officers have been in pursuit of the two.

Matt, from Tonawanda, N.Y. (located between Niagara Falls and Buffalo), was 6-feet tall, 210 pounds, with black hair and hazel eyes, state police said.

Sweat, a white male, is 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes, according to state police. He has tattoos on his left bicep and his right fingers.

Matt was serving a sentence of 25 years to life following his conviction in Niagara County after he kidnapped a male victim and caused his death by beating him on Dec. 3, 1997.

Sweat, from Dickinson, N.Y. (located east of Potsdam), is serving a sentence of life without parole following his conviction in Broome County for one count of first-degree murder after he caused the death of a Broome County Sheriff’s Deputy on July 4, 2002.

Two employees at the Clinton Correctional Facility -- seamstress Joyce Mitchell and security guard Gene Palmer -- are under arrest and facing charges in assisting in the prisoners' escape. 

Check back to Daily Voice for more on this developing story.

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