BLOOMING GROVE TWP. -- State police have set up a checkpoint on Route 402 North, just past the Blooming Grove police barracks where one trooper was killed and another was wounded during an ambush Friday night.
Officers are stopping motorists and asking if they witnessed anything. Investigators are also following up on dozens of leads today as they continue to investigate an ambush Friday night at the Blooming Grove police barracks that killed one trooper and injured another.
As troopers searched for the shooter or shooters, they were joined by agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but spokesmen for the state police declined to say if they had made progress toward solving the case.
Cpl. Bryon Dickson, 38, of Dunmore, died at the scene. He leaves behind his wife, Tiffany, and two young boys. Trooper Alex T. Douglass, 31, of Olyphant, is in critical but stable condition after being transported to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton.
The gunman is still at large, although State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said Saturday there was no imminent danger to residents.
State police reopened Route 402 near the barracks late Saturday night. The parking lot adjacent to the barracks was partially blocked off with yellow police tape. Flags are at half-staff.
A man wearing sunglasses who said he was a police officer in New Jersey pulled up across from the barracks about 1 p.m. in a red Chevrolet pickup truck, parked, crossed the road and laid a bouquet with daisies, a rose and a carnation wrapped in plastic next to the sign that marks the barracks.
He declined to be interviewed.
Investigators remained silent today about their investigation, and did not anticipate much new information about the shooting would emerge.
About two miles from the barracks in the Pike County Conservation District building and Blooming Grove Baptist Church, police officers from New York, New Jersey and throughout Pennsylvania gathered to assist in the investigation, and offer their support.
State police spokeswoman Maria Finn said the agency planned no news conference today because there is nothing substantially new to report.
“We have no new information, we have nothing to say,” Ms. Finn said.
She said Gov. Tom Corbett would not visit the scene today.
The barracks sits precisely 1.5 miles north Interstate 84, carved out of woods next to the Delaware State Forest. Forest ranger vehicles were parked in the barracks lot, too.
It is from the woods, perhaps across Route 402 from the barracks, that police believe the shots were fired.
At the church, police set up their white truck mobile command post with a radio tower that Ms. Finn said allowed them to watch what cameras in helicopters flying overhead saw.
If they saw anything, they weren’t saying, but Trooper Connie Devens, their local spokeswoman, said they were following up on numerous tips that came into a state police hotline, 1-866-326-7256.
“Any tips that did come in have been assigned to investigators to go out to follow up on at this point in time,” Trooper Devens said.
She declined to say if any of the tips had drawn police closer to nailing a suspect or suspects.
“At this point in time, we don’t have anything new to release on any suspects or any other information regarding the investigation,” she said.
She declined to say if police had a suspect or suspects, but said police do not have any better idea than Saturday what the motive for the shooting might have been.
“No, we don’t,” she said. “At this point in time, we just don’t know.”
Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers this morning increased the reward for any information that leads to an arrest from $20,000 to $50,000. Those with information may call 800-4-PA-TIPS.
“This attack was an ambush. Our troopers were leaving the barracks and were shot without warning,” said Commissioner Noonan during a Saturday afternoon press conference. “This is a traumatic event. It has touched us to the core that such an event can happen.”
Cpl. Dickson, a seven-year veteran who was promoted last year and is the father of two young sons, was pronounced dead at the scene. He is the 95th state trooper to be killed in the line of duty since the Pennsylvania State Police was founded in 1905.
A fund to support the Dickson and Douglass families has been created by family members of area troopers. It has raised more than $7,000 as of 2 p.m. today.
State police instructed law enforcement throughout eastern Pennsylvania to be on “high alert” following the shooting, which happened as one trooper was leaving and another was arriving. Police heightened security around other barracks. The gunman would likely not harm the general public, Mr. Noonan said, and instead could be targeting police officers.
“Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society,” Mr. Corbett said in a statement. “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.”
“It’s a cowardly attack,” Mr. Noonan said. “It’s an attack upon all of us in society.”
Police confirmed Saturday morning that investigators had interviewed a “person of interest.” Later in the day, Mr. Noonan stressed that no suspect had been arrested and the investigation remains open. Hundreds of people will be interviewed, he said. State police released few other details about the incident, fearing it could jeopardize the investigation.
Police did not release a description of the gunman and declined to answer whether any surveillance video captured the shooting. Mr. Noonan also said he would not discuss if the specific officers were targeted or if they were shot randomly.
Pike County District Attorney Raymond Tonkin called the crime “reprehensible” and “unbelievable.”
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey extended his condolences.
“Every day, Pennsylvania’s nearly 30,000 law enforcement officers place themselves at risk in order to protect each of us,” he said. “We can never truly repay that debt. And when one of our officers falls, we will never forget.”
Rep. Tom Marino reacted with both sadness and anger.
“Officers and troopers put themselves in harm’s way day in and day out but it is their families that bear a burden as well. The best thing our communities can do right now is seek to be supportive. We lost a trooper, another one is injured,” he said in a statement. “I cannot even fathom the mind of a monster that would ambush our troopers. I hope our officers, on the hunt right now, catch the suspect and bring him to justice as soon as possible.”
About 10 miles away from the barracks, local and national media gathered at the Pike County Training Center for updates on Saturday. During Saturday afternoon’s update, Mr. Noonan encouraged residents to stay aware of their surroundings. He also pledged that law enforcement would bring anyone responsible to justice.
“This is unbelievably heartbreaking to all of us,” he said.
Contact the writer: metrodesk@timesshamrock.com