JAMESTOWN, N.Y., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Cassadaga, N.Y., is the focus of a police manhunt for an escaped inmate believed behind the sniper shootings of two state troopers this week.
Police said 44-year-old Ralph Phillips, a Cassadaga native, likely was the sniper who shot troopers Joseph A. Longobardo and Donald Baker Jr. Thursday. Authorities have intensified their five-month manhunt for the escaped convict, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Phillips had escaped from the Erie County Jail, where he was serving time for a parole violation, in April and has since eluded police while being named a key suspect in another trooper shooting in June.
Both of Thursday's shooting victims were in "extremely critical" condition as a manhunt for Phillips expanded to include nearly 300 troopers searching surrounding counties, the newspaper said.
Phillips is also a suspect in the theft of 15 vehicles and more than 41 guns. Residents of Cassadaga have said they believe the man they called "Bucky" may have a death wish.
