3 officers killed in Pennsylvania shooting

Police escort of slain officers in Pennsylvania's York County — 'This is an absolutely tragic and devastating day'

(Image credit: Matt Slocum / AP Photo)

What happened

Three police officers were shot dead and two others seriously wounded yesterday in rural southeastern Pennsylvania while serving a warrant in a “domestic-related” investigation, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris said at a news conference. The two wounded officers were in critical but stable conditions, he said, and the shooter was killed in the gun battle.

The shooting attack, near North Codorus Township in York County, marks “one of the deadliest days for Pennsylvania police this century,” The Associated Press said. It “drew the attention of federal and state officials, and a visit by the governor,” Josh Shapiro (D), said The New York Times, but it “left its deepest mark on the residents of this county of farms,” where a 30-year-old officer was shot dead in February while responding to a hostage situation at a local hospital.

“This is an absolutely tragic and devastating day,” Shapiro said at the evening news conference. “We need to do better as a society” and “help the people who think that picking up a gun, picking up a weapon is the answer to resolving disputes.” It was Shapiro’s third gun-related event in two days, after he attended a gathering outside Philadelphia earlier in the day to mark progress in reducing gun homicides and delivered a speech on political violence at Tuesday’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh.

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