NY prison break triggers requests for pistol permits

Officials in the remote New York county where two escaped killers are on the loose have seen a rise in pistol permit requests.

The Clinton County Clerk’s Office near the Canadian border tells Syracuse.com it has gotten more requests since the escape of convicted murderers David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48.

“We typically don’t get more than one a day, but we probably have at least 12 this week,” Mary Lavorando, an employee in the clerk’s office, told the website Friday.

“It seems like more people have been picking up applications,” she said. “But it can take eight or nine weeks for approval. So it’s kind of like locking the barn door after the horse is out.”

The county is home to 80,000 people, according to census figures.

The search for the escapees entered its ninth day Sunday.

The website reported that some local residents who have armed themselves are tired of the siege mentality that has gripped their normally quiet communities since the escape.

The search near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora has involved more than 800 law enforcement officers.