The three-week manhunt for two escaped convicts from Clinton Prison in Dannamorra, New York, came to a close on Sunday afternoon when a sharp-eyed State Police Officers spotted David Sweat walking on a road approximately 1.5 miles from the Canadian border and shot Sweat twice in the torso as Sweat attempted to flee.

The wounded Sweat was taken to the Alice Hyde Medical Center, then on to the Albany Medical Center for treatment of his injuries and is reported to be in stable condition. It was determined that Sweat did not need surgery for his injuries.

Sweat’s capture came two days after his co-escapee, Richard Matt was shot and killed after he failed to comply with orders to drop his weapon near Malone, New York.

New information gleaned from the wounded Sweat reports that he and his escape partner split up about five days before his capture. Sweat, according to authorities, believed that Matt was slowing him down, so they split up. Bloodied socks belonging to Matt were found in a cabin that point to this as well. Sweat’s DNA was not found at that location.

According to Sweat, the two escapees were originally going to flee to Mexico with the help of Joyce Mitchell, the manager of the prison’s tailor shop. Matt, Sweat, and Mitchell had made a plan to kill Mitchell’s husband and make their way to the southern border. Matt had fled to Mexico to escape prosecution before, after murdering his boss in 1997. But, when the escape was about to take place, Mitchell got cold feet and decided not to take any further part in the plan and did not meet them outside the prison with a car. 

When Mitchell did not show, the two men altered their plans and decided to go north instead. The capture of Sweat was 17 miles from where Matt was shot and killed two days prior.

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