Updated 7:45 p.m.
In a news conference in Malone Sunday evening, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico lauded the actions of NYSP Sgt. Jay Cook, who took down escaped prisoner David Sweat, as courageous.
D'Amico said that Cook, a 21-year veteran of the state police, was supervising law enforcement officers holding a perimeter, when he came across Sweat. Cook, who was alone, asked Sweat to stop. Sweat ignored him and started to run. According to D'Amico, when Sweat got closer to a treeline, Cook realized he could soon not be visible, the police sergeant shot him twice in the torso with his handgun.
D'Amico said the incident took place about a mile-and-a-half from the Canadian border. Sweat was not armed at the time of his capture.
The superintendent said the Sweat is in stable condition. New York State Police has not yet interviewed Sweat, but D'Amico said they intend to and hope to fill in the "blank spaces" of what occurred between the time of his escape and capture.
"The nightmare is finally over," said Cuomo, who thanked the various law enforcement and government officials who participated in the three-week investigation and search for Sweat and the second escaped prisoner, Richard Matt. Matt was shot and killed by law enforcement on Friday.
D'Amico said he's thankful that in the three-weeks the prisoners were on the run no innocent civilians or law enforcement were hurt.
Cuomo echoed that sentiment, saying while he wished the incident had never occurred, there couldn't have been a better ending.
From earlier:
Captured inmate David Sweat is expected to be transported to an Albany hospital. Albany Medical Center spokesman Jeffrey Gordon says David Sweat will be transported there sometime Sunday evening. A trauma unit is standing by. Sweat's condition was not immediately released. Sweat was shot and captured by New York State Police earlier Sunday.
In a written statement, New York State Police said it was Sgt. Jay Cook of NYSP who spotted a suspicious man walking down a roadway in the town of Constable. Sergeant Cook shot and injured David Sweat, who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility just over three weeks ago. Sweat was taken into police custody alive, then taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Official statement from New York State Police on shooting and capture of David Sweat:
At approximately 3:20 p.m. on June 28, a member of the New York State Police spotted a suspicious man walking down a roadway in the Town of Constable. The State Police member shot and injured Clinton Correctional Facility escapee David Sweat. Sweat was taken into police custody alive, then taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. His condition is unknown at this time.
David Sweat, one of the convicts who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility, has been shot and captured alive by law enforcement. Franklin County Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill says David Sweat was shot Sunday afternoon in the town of Constable, north of Malone. Mulverhill says Sweat was transported to a medical center in Malone, and is alive, but had no information on his condition.
The New York Times is reporting that it was a New York state trooper that shot Sweat. Constable is approximately five miles from the Canadian border.
According to the Associated Press, Sen Charles Schumer says there are no reports any officers were hurt in the shooting and arrest of the second convicted killer who broke out of a maximum-security prison three weeks ago.
Schumer says federal law enforcement officials told him Sweat was shot twice and coughing up blood as he was taken to a hospital.
Sweat was taken by ambulance to Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone. There are conflicting reports about his condition, ranging from stable, to reports that say his injuries are life threatening.
This comes just two days after Richard Matt, the other convicted murdered who escaped with Sweat, was found, shot and killed by law enforcement.
Earlier Sunday, New York State Police said in a press release that 1,300 law enforcement from state, federal and local agencies were involved in the search for Sweat which was focused around the village of Malone.
New York State Police released preliminary results of the autopsy of Richard Matt Sunday afternoon:
Dr. Michael Sikirica determined the cause of death to be severe skull fractures and brain injuries due to gunshot wounds to the head. An examination of the body revealed bug bites on the lower extremities, blisters, and minor abrasions consistent with living in the woods for three weeks. A preliminary investigation revealed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tactical Unit member discharged several rounds from a semi-automatic weapon striking Matt in the head three times. Toxicology results are pending.
The autopsy was performed in Albany.
