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Police Say Alleged Cop-Killer Eric Frein Planted Pipe Bombs

Police say the explosives they believe were left by Eric Frein were fully functional.
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Police hunting for accused cop-killer Eric Frein found two "fully functional" pipe bombs in the Pennsylvania woods. State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said the explosives could have been detonated by a tripwire or lighted fuse, which he said was consistent with Frein's "gutless efforts to kill and injure law enforcement from a distance." At a Tuesday news conference, Bivens said search teams have also found other supplies that Frein "hastily" left behind but declined to describe them.

"I am calling on you, Eric, to surrender," Bivens said, directly addressing the fugitive, who is on the FBI's most-wanted list with $175,000 in reward money offered for his capture. "You are clearly stressed. You are making significant mistakes." At the same time, he acknowledged the difficult terrain has prevented police from getting close enough to Frein to capture him after he's been sighted.

Frein, 31, is accused of killing one trooper and critically wounding another in a Sept. 12 ambush on the Blooming Grove barracks, and he's been on the run ever since. More than 1,000 officers have been involved in the search, and Bivens said they had a probable sighting of him in the last 24 hours at a distance of 75 to 100 yards of dense woods. "We are not going anywhere," he said.

Image: A pipe bomb that police found in accused cop-killer Eric Frein's bunker in the Pennsylvania woods.
A pipe bomb that police found in accused cop-killer Eric Frein's bunker in the Pennsylvania woods.Bill Angelucci / NBC News

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