NORTH CODORUS, Pa. (AP) — The man who fatally shot three Pennsylvania officers and injured two before he was killed by police has been identified as 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, according to a law enforcement official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The officers were killed Wednesday while following up on a domestic-related investigation that began on Tuesday. Two more officers were wounded in the shooting and police killed the gunman.
Hours after Wednesday’s shooting, community members held American flags and saluted as police and emergency vehicles formed a procession to the coroner’s office. It was one of the deadliest days for Pennsylvania police this century.
Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned the violence at a news conference and said it was a tragic loss of life. Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the violence against police “a scourge on our society.”
It was one of the deadliest days for Pennsylvania police this century. In 2009 three Pittsburgh officers responding to a domestic disturbance were ambushed and shot to death by a man in a bulletproof vest.
Police departments across the region expressed condolences on social media. People were leaving flowers at the headquarters of the Northern York Regional Police Department.
The shooting erupted in the area of North Codorus Township, about 115 miles (185 km) west of Philadelphia, not far from Maryland, authorities said.
Dirk Anderson heard “quite a few” shots from his home across the street from the shooting, he said. He saw a helicopter and police arrive.
The emergency response unfolded on a rural road in south-central Pennsylvania. Some 30 police vehicles blocked off roads bordered by a barn, a goat farm and soybean and corn fields.
The two injured officers were in critical but stable condition at York Hospital, authorities said.
Authorities have not identified the officers or which police department they belonged to, or describe how they were shot, citing the investigation.
Family members of those killed were grieving but proud of their loved ones, said Shapiro.
Another officer in the area was killed in February, when a man armed with a pistol and zip ties entered a hospital’s intensive care unit and took staff members hostage before a shootout that left both the man and an officer dead.
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Associated Press reporters Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island; Michael Casey in Boston and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report. Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Dale from Philadelphia.
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