One trooper killed and second injured in manhunt after gunman fires at state police barracks
Two Pennsylvania State Troopers were shot during a manhunt for a shooter who fired at a barracks.
One state trooper was killed and a second was critically injured after Brandon Stine, 38, lead police on a game of ‘cat-and-mouse’ through rural central Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Trooper Jacques Rougeau Jr, 29, was killed, and Lieutenant James Wagner, 45, was critically wounded during the attacks, which were described as ‘ambushes’ against troopers participating in a large manhunt for the shooter.
‘This is a tragedy for the Pennsylvania State Police,’ Colonel Christopher Paris said on Sunday. ‘We ask for your continued prayers, for not only our Troopers but also their families.’
The incident began around 11.00am on Saturday, when Stine drove into the parking lot of the Troop G Barracks in Lewistown and began shooting into police vehicles.
‘Mr Stine got out of his vehicle and fired several rounds from a long rifle into marked patrol cars,’ Paris said. ‘Mr Stine then got back into his truck and drove away. We were able to identify him, and we immediately began a search.’
The state police immediately activated a major case team and deployed a helicopter in Mifflin County, located in the center of the state.
Among those was Lt Wagner, a 21-year veteran of the State Police and station commander at the nearby Bedford Barracks. Paris said Wagner was ‘leading from the front, making sure that the operations were running smoothly in Troop G when the situation unfolded’ before he ran into the shooter.
‘At approximately 12.45pm, Lt Wagner encountered Mr Stine in Mifflintown,’ Paris said. ‘During this encounter, Stine engaged Lt Wagner with a long rifle, shooting him and critically injuring him.’
Other citizens and first responders noticed the shooting, and were able to provide life-saving first aid to the injured lieutenant. Wagner was rushed to Lewistown Hospital, then flown by helicopter to Hershey Medical Center.
Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens said Stine was armed with a ‘very large caliber rifle’ that would penetrate the typical body armor worn by state troopers.
‘In spite of that, they very heroically continued this search very aggressively,’ Bivens said. ‘He was playing somewhat of a game of cat-and-mouse with them.’
Bivens said that Stine repeatedly called 911 to report his location, then wouldn’t be there when troopers arrived. ‘He seemed to be setting our people up for a potential ambush,’ Bivens said.
Stine ambushed Trooper Rougeau on a rural road in Walker Township, Pennsylvania, shooting him through the windshield of his patrol car.
The shooter then fled further into a rural, wooded area, where state troopers attempted to flush him out into the open. Bivens was at the scene overhead in a helicopter.
‘What I witnessed, in my many years with the Pennsylvania State Police and many serious situations, was one of the most intense, unbelievable gunfights I have ever witnessed,’ the lieutenant colonel said.
Stine then drove to a parking lot for a store and small restaurant, full of people patronizing the businesses.
‘Our troopers put themselves between those people and, and by force with their vehicles and by engaging him, forced him away from the business,’ Bivens said. Troopers then engaged the shooter again in a firefight.
Stine was shot and killed around 3.00pm after being cornered at a row of trees.
But investigators are still unclear what provoked the seemingly random violence that took place on Saturday.
‘At this point, there are no clear motives we can point to,’ Colonel Paris said. The colonel said it was a ‘miracle’ that no civilians were harmed over the course of the day.
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