State Trooper Fatally Shot in Pennsylvania
A state trooper is dead after being shot on Friday night in Blooming Grove, Pennsylvania, outside of the police barracks. USA Today reports that a “massive manhunt” is underway, while Jeffrey Hudak, 48, remains a person of interest in the shooting. Hudak is not considered a suspect in the incident, according to Connie Devens, a spokeswoman for Troop R for the State Police in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
The shooting of the state troopers took place at 10:50 p.m. on Friday, and Commissioner Frank Noonan added that the police have no description of the shooter at this time. Noonan also explained that the ambush appeared to be “directed particularly at the Pennsylvania State Police.”
While one state trooper is dead, CNN reports that the other state trooper is in stable condition after having surgery to treat his wounds. Post Gazette confirms that the surviving officer was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Scranton. The incident took place when one state trooper was leaving and the other was coming into the police barrack.
Noonan sounded confident about the area’s safety on Saturday morning, stating, “People in the area can come and go freely but should be alert.”
Blooming Grove is about 35 miles east of Scranton. The small town has about 4000 residents.
Governor Tom Corbett stated that “our prayers go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the Pennsylvania State Police trooper who was killed in the line of duty Friday night outside the Blooming Grove, Pike County, state police barracks. We are praying as well, for the full recovery of his colleague who was injured in the incident. Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society. The incident in Blooming Grove shows, once again, that our first responders face constant danger in order that the rest of us may live in peace and safety.”
Anyone with information about the state trooper shooting should contact police by calling 911 or the Honesdale state police barracks at 570-253-7126. AOL News adds that helicopters were flying over the area in search of Friday night’s shooter. Locals hope to identify the suspect involved in the fatal shooting of the state trooper in this small Pennsylvania town. The identities of the two officers are not being released yet. Police officers from New Jersey and other areas of the Northeast are assisting in the state trooper shooting investigation.
[Image courtesy of Butch Comegys / AP]
