Pa. state trooper killed in ambush

Associated Press

BLOOMING GROVE, Pa.

A late-night ambush outside a state police barracks in Pennsylvania’s rural northeastern corner left one trooper dead and another critically wounded, and authorities scoured the densely wooded countryside and beyond Saturday looking for the shooter or shooters.

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said a “very dangerous, armed criminal” eluded quick capture.

“This attack was an ambush. Our troopers were ... shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves,” Noonan told reporters Saturday afternoon. “It’s a cowardly attack. It’s an attack upon all of us in society.”

The dead lawman was identified as Cpl. Bryon Dickson of Dunmore, a seven-year veteran who had transferred to the region from the Philadelphia barracks several months ago. Trooper Alex Douglass underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition, Noonan said.

He provided few details on the shooting but said the attack was directed at state police. Law-enforcement installations throughout eastern Pennsylvania were put on high alert.

“It has touched us to the core that such a thing could happen,” Noonan said.

The slain trooper was married with two young sons. He was described by friends as devoted to work and family.

“They were a committed couple,” Melissa Contorno, a friend of Dickson’s wife, told The (Scranton) Times-Tribune. “They were raising a beautiful young family. It’s not fair.”

Police interviewed a man they called a “person of interest,” but Noonan said authorities are talking to hundreds of people as part of the investigation. He stressed the man is not a suspect.

The troopers were ambushed around 10:50 p.m. Friday as one of them was leaving the barracks in Blooming Grove, Pike County, and another was arriving. The barracks is in a wooded area, surrounded by state game lands.