One of the convicted killers who escaped from a New York maximum security prison has been fatally shot by law enforcement, according to multiplereports.
Richard Matt, 49, and David Sweat, 35, escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York on June 6. A man believed to be Matt was shot and killed by law enforcement at approximately 3:45 PM, Friday, after being spotted in a wooded area in Malone, New York, according to a statement from the New York State Police.
Law enforcement were alerted to the escaped pair's position by a 911 call, a federal law enforcement source told CNN, after Matt reportedly shot at the driver of a camper. Matt was attempting to carjack the camper vehicle when the driver sped away and called 911, The New York Times reports.
The Daily Beast, citing "knowledgeable law-enforcement sources,"reports that law enforcement shot Matt in the vicinity of Lake Titus, New York, near the Canadian border.
CNN reports that Sweat is now on the run and authorities no longer have eyes on him. The men were believed to be armed after raiding one of the many hunting cabins in the area.
CNN has a good map of where Matt was shot in relation to Clinton Correctional Facility and a hunting cabin where their DNA was previously found:
The New York Times reports that gunfire was reported in northern New York, where up to 800 law-enforcement officers have gone door to door checking houses, wooded areas, campgrounds, and summer homes in search of the fugitives.
"The shots rang out as law enforcement officers zeroed in on Friday on an area of remote terrain in Franklin County, near where investigators discovered evidence in two hunting cabins that indicated the missing inmates had been there," The Times reports.
Matt was serving 25 years to life for killing and dismembering his former boss in 1997. He had fled to Mexico in the 90s after killing his boss. Sweat was serving a life sentence for killing a sheriff's deputy in 2002.
Authorities believe the men may have had help from as many as four corrections officers at Clinton Correctional Facility.
Corrections officer Gene Palmer, who was arrested last week, said he let inmates into the prison's internal catwalks, which they later used to flee, in return for snitching on other inmates.
Palmer is accused of bringing hacksaw blades and a screwdriver bit hidden inside frozen hamburger to the convicted killers.
Matt and Sweat used hacksaws to cut through steel walls around air vents near their cots to create the hole they would escape through.
Another prison employee, seamstress Joyce Mitchell, was arrested earlier this month.
She is accused of providing the inmates with cellphones, hacksaws, and power tools. She has been charged with criminal facilitation and promoting prison contraband.
Authorities also believe Mitchell provided them with eyeglasses with lights attached to them.
The prison was reportedly plagued with security lapses resulting from a sense of complacency that had befallen civilian employees and corrections officers.
Natasha Bertrand and Reuters contributed to this report.
SEE ALSO: Authorities think the escaped murderers had more help than previously known
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