Pistol Permits 1

With two escaped killers on the loose, the Clinton County, N.Y., clerk’s office has seen a rise in the number of requests for pistol permits.

“We typically don’t get more than one a day, but we probably have at least 12 this week,” said Mary Lavorando, of the Clinton County Clerk’s Office in Plattsburgh.

“It seems like more people have been picking up applications,” she said Friday afternoon. “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.”

New York state police narrowed their search for the escapees Friday afternoon, closing in on an area along State Route 374 in the town of Plattsburgh.

Troopers said they will focus the search for David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, on a stretch of Route 374 between General Leroy Manor Road and Rand Hill Road. The road will remain closed on that stretch until the search has been completed.

Some local residents who have armed themselves say they are growing weary of the siege mentality that has sunk into their normally-quiet communities.

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