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Three police officers were shot dead and two others were injured in a shooting incident in the southern part of Pennsylvania on Wednesday. “We grieve for the loss of life of three precious souls who served this county, served this commonwealth, served this country,” Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement.
An investigation was soon launched in the area of North Codorus township, about 115 miles (185km) west of Philadelphia, not far from the Maryland line, authorities said. “There are simply no words I can offer to assuage the grief that this community has experienced,” Pennsylvania state police commissioner Col Christopher Paris told reporters, Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, York Hospital in the area said that it was treating two people in serious condition related to a police incident in northern York County. The hospital said enhanced security protocols are in place to ensure the safety of those who have been injured in the incident.
Pam Bondi issues a statment
Shortly after the incident, US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the violence against police “a scourge on our society.” She said federal agents were on scene to support local officers. “Please send prayers to the officers and those involved in the shooting in York County,” Pennsylvania Lt Gov Austin Davis said in a separate social media post.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said he would also head to the scene. In his post on X, he urged “all residents to follow the instructions of local law enforcement” and said he was “praying for all involved.”
In light of this incident, the local school district issued a shelter-in-place order, though it said schools and students were not involved in the shooting. The order was eventually lifted by afternoon, and the district said in a statement that authorities “advised us to hold students and staff in our buildings as a precaution while several area roads are closed”.
According to the Associated Press, police have not provided any details about who was involved in the shooting. Officers were keeping people back from the scene in the area’s rolling farmland, with about 30 police vehicles blocking off roads bordered by a barn, a goat farm and soybean and corn fields.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Pennsylvania State Police, Northern Regional Police and numerous emergency responders are at the scene. The York County Commissioners are monitoring the situation closely and praying for all those involved,” the county said in a statement.
The incident took place after an officer in the area was killed in February when a man armed with a pistol and zip ties entered a hospital’s intensive care unit and took staff members hostage before a shootout that left both the suspect and an officer dead.
With inputs from the Associated Press.