NEW YORK » A border patrol agent who shot an escaped inmate who led authorities on a weekslong manhunt in upstate New York says he had "no other option" but to kill him.

Christopher Voss tells NBC News escapee Richard Matt pointed a shotgun at him when he was discovered hiding in the woods June 26.

Matt and fellow prisoner David Sweat broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6.

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol tactical team was searching cabins when an officer heard a cough and discovered Matt. Voss says Matt raised a shotgun and pointed it. Matt was shot three times in the head.

Sweat was captured later after being shot by a trooper near the Canadian border. He has pleaded not guilty to escape and other charges.