ITHACA, N.Y. (WETM) – Police are searching for a man who is considered armed and dangerous after two separate incidents involving the possession of two machetes in the City of Ithaca.

On Monday, Aug. 14, Ithaca Police responded to a report of a theft at a retail business on Fairgrounds Memorial Parkway around 2:38 p.m. The suspect was armed with two machetes.

When Police arrived at the scene and confronted the suspect, who was attempting to leave on foot, they were threatened with one of the machetes in his possession. He eventually fled into the area commonly referred to as “the jungle”, behind the retail business.

After briefly pursuing him on foot, a perimeter was established around a heavily wooded area in “the jungle” around the suspect’s last known location. Police canines from the Ithaca Police Department and Schuyler County Sheriff’s Officer were utilized to conduct a search, though, the suspect was not located.

The suspect is still on the loose but is known to Police as Terry Short, 27, of Ithaca. Short was involved in another incident earlier in the day, in which he also possessed two machetes while inside a different business in the City of Ithaca.

There are several criminal charges that are pending against Short. He also has an active bench warrant issued by the Tompkins County Court for Aggravated Criminal Contempt, a Class D Felony Offense.

Short should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who encounters him should not approach him and is encouraged to contact the Ithaca Police Department immediately to report his whereabouts.

Short is 5 feet and 7 inches tall, approximately 130 pounds, with hazel eyes.

The Ithaca Police Department was assisted by the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the New York State Environmental Conservation Police and the New York State Park Police during this incident.