What we know about the York County shooting that left 3 officers dead and 2 injured
The incident took place in North Codorus Township, about two and a half hours outside of Philadelphia.
Three York County police officers are dead and two others are seriously injured following a shooting Wednesday afternoon in North Codorus Township, officials said.
The incident unfolded just after 2 p.m. on Haar Road, where police were following up on a “domestic-related” investigation, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris said at a news conference Wednesday. The township is about 115 miles west of Philadelphia in south-central Pennsylvania.
The suspect involved in the shooting died after being shot by police, and there is no active threat to the community, Paris added.
Gov. Josh Shapiro headed to the area following the shooting and met with the deceased officers’ families, as well as the families of those who were injured.
“We grieve for the loss of life of the three precious souls who served this commonwealth...and we continue to pray for the full recovery of those who are dealing with their wounds,” Shapiro said Wednesday from WellSpan York Hospital, where the officers were taken following the shooting.
After the news conference, Shapiro ordered all state and U.S. flags on state property to be lowered to half-staff.
Here is what we know:
Who was involved?
Officials declined to identify the officers who were killed or injured, citing the ongoing investigation. The department for which the officers worked was also withheld.
Hospital officials, meanwhile, confirmed that they were treating two of the officers, who were listed in critical but stable condition.
The suspect in the incident was identified Thursday morning as Matthew James Ruth, 24, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Ruth’s criminal record showed stalking and related charges filed against him Wednesday.
What happened following the shooting?
Spring Grove Area School District briefly issued a shelter-in-place order, but indicated that none of its schools or students were involved. In a statement, district officials said that authorities advised them to “hold students and staff in our buildings as a precaution while several area roads are closed.”
The shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 4 p.m., the district said on its website.
The incident had unfolded on a rural road in south-central Pennsylvania that winds through an agricultural area with a barn and farm fields. Officers were keeping people well back from the scene in the area’s rolling farmland, with some 30 police vehicles blocking off roads bordered by a barn, a goat farm and soybean and corn fields.
Pennsylvania State Police is leading the investigation in partnership with the York County District Attorney’s Office, Paris said.
How have officials responded?
In a statement, Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the violence against police “a scourge on our society.” She said federal agents were on the scene to support local officers.
“The grief will be unbearable but we will bear it,” Paris said of the shooting. “We will not rest until we conduct a full fair and competent investigation into this matter.”
Shapiro previously traveled to York County following the shooting death of West York Borough Police Department Officer Andrew Duarte in April. Violence like this, he said, is “not okay.”
“We need to do better as a society,” Shapiro said. “We need to help the people who think that picking up a gun, picking up a weapon, is the answer to resolving disputes.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.