State Trooper Landon Weaver, 23: Newlywed, IUP dean's list criminology major
Slain trooper Landon Weaver had only just begun his law enforcement career when he was gunned down Friday by a man suspected of violating a protection from abuse order.
Slain trooper Landon Weaver had only just begun his law enforcement career when he was gunned down Friday by a man suspected of violating a protection from abuse order.
Weaver, 23, was raised in East Freedom, a tiny south Central Pennsylvania town of under 1,000 persons in rural Blair County. He is the son of Christine and Eric Weaver of East Freedom.
On his Facebook timeline, Weaver listed employment, among other positions, as a night supervisor at Kmart, leaving that job to join the Pennsylvania State Police on Dec. 14, 2015. On its Facebook page, State Police posted a photograph of Weaver in uniform with the note "End of Watch: Dec. 30, 2016."
Weaver was a regular Facebook user who had hundreds of social media "friends."
He was a 2012 graduate of Central High School in nearby Martinsburg and had married his high school sweetheart, Macy Gottschall. The two were pictured, arm in arm, in cap and gown, at their graduation ceremony in the August 2012 edition of the school district newsletter, The ABC's of the Spring Grove School District.
The couple was married in June. Weaver often posted pictures of himself and his wife on his Facebook site.
After high school, Weaver went on to study at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in criminology. He was a dean's list student.
Condolences poured in through Facebook and other social media sites on Saturday, as word spread of Weaver's killing, among them a note from state Attorney General-elect, Josh Shapiro:
"We mourn the loss of Trooper Landon Weaver of the Pennsylvania State Police who was killed in the line of duty last night. We pray for his family and commend PSP and other law enforcement for their extraordinary efforts overnight to end the manhunt and prevent any others from being harmed," he said in a post.
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