(North Codorus) Three police officers were fatally injured by shot on Wednesday in southern Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed by the police, the authorities said.
The police were on site, in the heart of hilly agricultural land, to follow up on an investigation for domestic violence opened the day before.
“It’s an absolutely tragic and devastating day,” said Governor Josh Shapiro at a press conference. We mourn the loss of three precious beings that served this county, this Commonwealth and this country. »»
“This type of violence is unacceptable. We have to do better as a company, ”said Shapiro.
It was one of the deadliest days of this century for the Pennsylvania police. In 2009, three Pittsburgh police officers, intervening on a marital argument, had been caught in an ambush and killed by a man wearing a bulletproof vest.
The condolences of the police services in the whole region flocked to social networks and people began to deposit flowers at the regional police headquarters in Northern York.
“The sorrow will be unbearable, but we will bear it,” said Christopher Paris, Pennsylvania State police commissioner, who has promised a complete and impartial investigation.
The shooting broke out in the canton of North Codorus, about 185 km west of Philadelphia, not far from the border with Maryland, the authorities said.
Photo Matt Slocum, Associated Press
Motorcycle police participated in the procession.
Dirk Anderson, a farmer living on the other side of a two -lane country road, said that he was in his store “when we heard shots”, which he described as “quite numerous”. He saw a helicopter arriving and an important police vehicle intervene.
The two injured police officers were in critical condition, but stable at York hospital, the authorities.
The authorities have not identified the shooter, the police, neither their police service nor describes the circumstances of the shooting, invoking the current investigation.
Mr. Shapiro said that he and other officials had met the families of the police killed, who, despite their mourning, took the time to express their pride for their relatives.
The general prosecutor, Pamela Bondi, described the violence against the police as a scourge for our society “. She said federal agents were on site to support local police.
The emergency intervention took place on a rural road from the Pennsylvania center-South. The police maintained the population at a distance, around thirty police vehicles blocking the roads bordered by a barn, a goat tree and fields of soy and corn.
“We have to do better as a company,” said Shapiro. We must help those who think that bringing a weapon is the solution to resolve conflicts. We have to do better in mental health. »»
“We have to do better in support of people in need to avoid tragedies like this,” he added.
