On September 12, 2014, during a shift change at the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...

barracks in Blooming Grove Township, two state troopers were shot with a .308 caliber rifle. One trooper died at the scene and another was taken to a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

where he recovered.

Eric Frein Eric Matthew Frein (born May 3, 1983) is an American domestic terrorist and murderer, convicted and sentenced to death for the 2014 Pennsylvania State Police barracks attack in which he shot and killed one State Trooper, and seriously injured a ...

was identified by the police as the only suspect in the case, and led the police on a weeks-long manhunt. He was eventually captured at an abandoned airport hangar on October 30, and charged with terrorism, murder, and attempted murder. Frein was convicted of all charges in April 2017, and subsequently sentenced to death.

Attack

At 10:50 p.m. on September 12, 2014, a shift change was commencing outside the Troop R

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

of the Pennsylvania State Police in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

in the Township of Blooming Grove, Pennsylvania. At that moment, a sniper opened fire with a .308-caliber rifle. One trooper was killed by the gunfire and a second was injured, but survived.Ambush suspect was former Northampton Community College student
, ''

The Express-Times ''The Express-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Easton, Pennsylvania. The newspaper provides national news and extensive local news coverage of the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, ''The Express-Times'' is the lon ...

'', September 17, 2014.Pennsylvania suspect in police killing belonged to 'military simulation unit'
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', September 17, 2014. Four shots were fired within 90 seconds, from a distance of in a position at the edge of the nearby woods, before the shooter fled further into the wooded area. One trooper was shot trying to help the other, prompting him to crawl back to safety, where he was aided by two other troopers.

Victims

*Corporal Bryon K. Dickson II, 38, a seven-year veteran (killed) *Trooper Alex Douglass, 31, a ten-year veteran (injured)

Perpetrator

Eric Matthew Frein was identified as the main suspect of the attack after the discovery of an abandoned 2001

Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee is a line of SUVs manufactured and marketed by Jeep over five generations. Originally marketed as a variant of the Jeep Wagoneer, the Cherokee has evolved from a full-size SUV to one of the first compact SUVs and into its curr ...

three days after the event. The vehicle was traced back to his parents, and multiple pieces of evidence, including bullet casings matched to the attack, were discovered inside. He led authorities on a manhunt after the shootings, eventually being placed on the

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William Kin ...

list. Frein was described by police as a "self-taught survivalist" with a grudge against law enforcement personnel. At the time of the attack, he was a reenactor who acted in a variety of roles, most often Serbian soldiers. In 2008, Frein founded Istocni Vuk or "Eastern Wolf", whose Myspace page pictured Frein engaged in recreational military simulations as a Serbian soldier. The police manhunt, initially involving nearly 200 officers by September 17, grew to nearly 1,000 on September 24. Law enforcement officers included local police; state police forces from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

;

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

; U.S. Marshals Service; and the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...

. Frein was seen several times during the manhunt, but each time, officers were unable to approach him directly due to the rugged terrain of the area, which allowed Frein to escape. They subsequently believed Frein was taunting them during the manhunt. A colleague from the

MilSim MilSim, an abbreviation of military simulation, refers to live-acted simulation of armed conflict scenarios conducted by civilians for entertainment, sporting or nostalgic purposes. It has been described as both a form of "extreme sport" and as hi ...

group "Red Alliance" suggested that "If he's re-enacting anyone, it's Rambo from the very first movie," referring to the character of

John Rambo John James Rambo (born July 6, 1947) is a fictional character in the ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel '' First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film series, in which he was ...

in ''

First Blood ''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor ...

''. Frein was captured by U.S. Marshals near

Birchwood-Pocono Airpark The Birchwood-Pocono Airpark is a former airport located in Tannersville, Pennsylvania that operated alongside the Birchwood Resort from 1968 until its closure in 1996. History The resort and airpark were originally owned by a Pan Am Pan Am ...

, an abandoned airfield approximately ENE of Tannersville, on October 30, 48 days after the shooting. At the time of his arrest, he was unarmed, but a .308-caliber rifle and a pistol were recovered afterward. He was arrested without incident and restrained using handcuffs belonging to Dickson. The day after his capture, he was charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

in the attack. Although Frein did not resist arrest, he suffered a cut to the bridge of his nose, as well as a scrape over his left eye and bruises to his cheeks and eyes. The U.S. Marshals claim this occurred while he was lying on the ground during his arrest. The Pennsylvania State Police, however, claim these injuries occurred while he was on the run.

Aftermath

After the attack, the Troop R barracks were immediately closed down for crime scene investigators to process it, and for repairs to windows shattered by gunfire. Trooper operations were temporarily handled at the barracks in

Honesdale Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...

, about away. On November 12, 2014, two months after the attack, the barracks were reopened, with all but three employees (Alex Douglass and two others) returning to work. Frein was indicted on a total of twelve charges, including terrorism and first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to all charges during his video

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

on January 29, 2015. Prosecutors sought the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. Douglass, who suffered a gunshot wound to the pelvis, was taken to

Geisinger Medical Center Geisinger Medical Center is a hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania. It is the primary hospital for the Danville-based Geisinger Health System, a primary chain of hospitals and clinics across northeastern and central Pennsylvania Pennsylv ...

for treatment and was classified to be in stable but critical condition. Partially paralyzed by his injuries, he underwent sixteen surgeries at a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

hospital in an effort to walk on his own again. In May 2015, his family announced that they forgave Frein for the shooting. Also in May 2015, Douglass shared his experience of being shot. On April 19, 2017, Frein was convicted on all 12 counts, including first-degree murder. On April 27, 2017, Frein was sentenced to death by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

and sent to Pennsylvania's death row.

Reactions

Governor

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1995 ...

released a statement after the attack, saying, "Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society." He also ordered all state flags at the

Pennsylvania State Capitol The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative ...

and commonwealth facilities to be flown at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...

. State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan called the attack "cowardly" and said, "It cuts us to the core that such an event could happen." Congressman

Tom Marino Thomas Anthony Marino (born August 13, 1952) is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2019, and the from Janu ...

(R–10th) expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, and also condemned the attack, supporting the officers in their manhunt for the shooter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania State Police barracks attack, 2014 2014 murders in the United States 2014 in Pennsylvania American police officers killed in the line of duty Anti-police violence in the United States Assassinated police officers Attacks in the United States in 2014 Crime in Pennsylvania Deaths by firearm in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State Police Pike County, Pennsylvania Law enforcement in Pennsylvania September 2014 crimes in the United States Terrorist incidents in Pennsylvania Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2014