Trooper slain in ambush — fellow officer wounded
BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. — Two troopers were ambushed outside a state police barracks in northeastern Pennsylvania during a late-night shift change, killing one and injuring another, and authorities scoured the densely wooded countryside and beyond on Saturday looking for the shooter or shooters.
State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said a “very dangerous, armed criminal” eluded quick capture.
One trooper was leaving the barracks in Blooming Grove and another was arriving when shots were fired at 10:50 p.m. Friday, Noonan said.
He identified the dead lawman as Cpl. Bryon Dickson and said Trooper Alex Douglass was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
“This attack was an ambush. Our troopers were shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves,” Noonan said Saturday afternoon. “It’s a cowardly attack. It’s an attack upon all of us in society.”
Noonan provided few details on the shooting but said the attack was directed at state police. Law enforcement installations throughout eastern Pennsylvania were put on high alert.
“It has touched us to the core that such a thing could happen,” he said.
Law officers from across the region, including New York and New Jersey, descended on the Pocono Mountains to help with the search on foot and by helicopter. The Blooming Grove bar- racks is in a wooded area, surrounded by state game lands.
Police interviewed a man they called a person of interest, but Noonan said authorities are talking to hundreds of people as part of the investigation. He stressed the man is not a suspect.
Several roads around the barracks, including parts of Interstate 84, were closed Saturday. Blooming Grove is a township of 4,000 people about 35 miles east of Scranton.
“There has been exhaustive search conducted by hundreds of members of law enforcement,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens.
Trooper Adam Reed, a state police spokesman, said the Blooming Grove barracks covers most of Pike County, which runs along the Delaware River and borders New Jersey and New York.