Eric Frein, the suspected cop-killer who for six weeks was the target of a manhunt involving more than 1,000 law enforcement officers, surrendered yesterday after being discovered in an open field near an abandoned airplane hangar, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. At a late-night news conference, Pike County, Pa., District Attorney Raymond Tonkin said Frein would be charged with murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, and possession of weapons of mass destruction. Tonkin said he would seek the death penalty.
After 48 days in hiding amid woods and mountains, Frein was captured about 30 miles from the State Police barracks where he allegedly opened fire Sept. 12, killing State Trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson, and seriously injuring another trooper. State police said they didn’t know whether Frein, who was unarmed when captured, had been using the hangar as a shelter during his seven weeks on the run, and they wouldn’t say what they found there. “He did not just give up because he was tired,” said State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan. “He gave up because he was caught.”