Story highlights
NEW: With manhunt under way, schools in vicinity of shooting close for the day
An arrest warrant has been issued for Eric Matthew Frein, 31
Frein is a survivalist with anti-police leanings, law enforcement officials say
Frein is at large and considered armed and dangerous, police commissioner says
Authorities warned Tuesday that the man believed to be behind the ambush of two Pennsylvania State Police troopers is “armed and dangerous” and may not be finished with targeting law enforcement officials.
Eric Matthew Frein is wanted for murder in the first degree in the killing of one trooper and the wounding of another over the weekend, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan told reporters during a news conference.
“He has made statements about wanting to kill law enforcement officers and also to commit mass acts of murder,” Noonan said.
“He has very strong feelings about law enforcement and seems to be very angry with a lot of things that go on in our society.”
An affidavit of probable cause paints a chaotic, bloody scene during the shooting Friday night at the state police barracks in Blooming Grove in northeast Pennsylvania.
‘Get him inside’
The attack began at about 11:50 p.m. when Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson, who had just finished his shift, left the barracks through the building’s front doors.
He was shot as he walked toward his vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Another police officer walked by the front door and saw Dickson lying on the ground.
The officer, a woman, asked him what happened, and Dickson told her had been shot and needed help, the affidavit said. As he was telling the officer what happened, another shot was fired, it said.
Dickson, according to the documents, asked the officer to “get him inside.”
Then as another officer, Trooper Alex Douglass, tried to help, he was shot, the documents said.
The officers in the building resorted to using a patrol car to drive between the shooter and the building in an effort to rescue Dickson and get him to a hospital, according to the affidavit.
Dickson was declared dead at an area hospital. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said.
Shell casings found
Frein, 31, is a survivalist by hobby who lives in Monroe County, authorities said. Noonan said anyone who might know something about Frein or spot him should first contact authorities.
A person walking their dog saw Frein’s car submerged in a body of water about two miles from Blooming Grove, the police barracks where the shootings happened Friday. The person dialed 911, and investigators found shell casings inside the vehicle that matched casings found at the scene of the shooting, authorities said.
Investigators also discovered Frein’s Social Security card along with camouflage face paint, a flashlight, a hooded sweatshirt and military gear inside the car. Police searched Frein’s parents’ home and found spent shell casings matching the kind used in the shooting, authorities said.
Pennsylvania authorities are working with the FBI and others throughout the country to sift through tips that have come in the case, officials said.
Friends and relatives who were interviewed by investigators said that Frein had talked about his disdain for law enforcement, according to authorities.
“This was nothing he kept quiet,” said Noonan, who said he wished those people had spoken up before the shooting of the troopers.
With the hunt for the suspected gunman still under way, one school district in the vicinity of the shooting announced it was canceling classes on Wednesday. The administration of the Pocono Mountain School District said the decision was made “due to safety concerns of our students at bus stops with an armed and dangerous gunman on the loose.”
Reward offered
Earlier this week, authorities said they were offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to the suspect or suspects.
As of Monday, the trooper who was wounded but survived the shooting had not been interviewed. Douglass was conscious and speaking for the first time Monday since undergoing surgery after the shooting, police said.
“First and foremost is our concern for his health and recovery. So we’re letting the doctors do what they need to do, and at an appropriate time that will occur. We expect that to happen in the very near future,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Monday.
Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson was killed in the attack.
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CNN’s Catherine Shoichet, Marlena Baldacci, Joshua Berlinger, Mayra Cuevas, Ed Payne, Joe Sutton and Carma Hassan contributed to this report
