Story highlights
- One trooper is conscious after being shot
- Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers offers a $50,000 reward to help find suspects
- Police have named the two officers shot in an ambush
- One trooper died from gunshot wounds
A Pennsylvania State Police officer shot in an ambush is conscious and speaking for the first time since his surgery, according to police.
Trooper Alex T. Douglass was in stable but critical condition after being shot late Friday night just outside the police barracks in Blooming Grove, Commissioner Frank Noonan said.
Police hope that Douglass can provide them with information that will help them identify a suspect.
"We hope to interview him and see if he can provide any information on the incident," Trooper Tom Kelly, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Sunday night.
Another Pennsylvania State Police officer, Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson, was killed in the attack.
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Police have not made any arrests in the case. Earlier, Noonan said police had no description of the shooter or any information about the motive.
"It cuts us to the core that such an event could happen," Noonan said. "[They] really had no chance to defend themselves. It's a cowardly attack."
The shooting happened at 10:50 p.m. Friday in a rural, wooded area.
Dickson and Douglass were young troopers with families. Dickson previously served at the Philadelphia barracks, according to Noonan.
"Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society," Gov. Tom Corbett said in a statement. Corbett ordered that all state flags in the Capitol complex and at commonwealth facilities in Pike County fly at half-staff to honor Dickson.
Investigators were interviewing a "person of interest" Saturday morning, but no arrests had been made, spokeswoman Trooper Connie Devens said.
Noonan stressed that police would be interviewing "hundreds" of people.
"This attack seems to be directed particularly at the Pennsylvania State Police," Noonan said, but warned that residents should be careful.
"Until we have this person in custody, obviously everyone should be cautious and aware that there is a dangerous criminal on the loose," he said.
Police from New York, New Jersey and throughout the Northeast are assisting in the search, Noonan said.
Police have set up traffic checkpoints throughout the area, according to Kelly, for two reasons: To get "useful information" and to help the community feel more comfortable and secure.
Pennsylvania State Police raised their reward to $50,000 for information that would help lead to the arrest and conviction of an individual responsible for the shooting.
