North Codurus: Five police officers shot this week in rural Pennsylvania, three of them fatally, were ambushed by a suspected stalker who opened fire on them with an assault-style rifle when they attempted to serve an arrest warrant, a local prosecutor said on Thursday.
The suspect, Matthew Ruth, 24, was himself killed in the ensuing gunfight on Wednesday with officers from the North York County Regional Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Office, according to county District Attorney Tim Barker.
First responders work at the scene of the shooting in North Codurus.Credit: AP
The shooting unfolded at a farmhouse in North Codorus Township, about 100 miles west of Philadelphia, when five police detectives and a deputy sheriff sought to arrest Ruth on suspicion of stalking, prowling and trespassing, Barker said.
According to the DA, the house belonged to the suspect’s ex-girlfriend and her mother, who had reported to police the night before that Ruth was lurking outside the home in camouflage clothing and peering into the dwelling through a window with binoculars.
The ex-girlfriend also told police she believed that Ruth had set fire to her pick-up truck back in August.
After a fruitless search for Ruth on Tuesday night, police returned on Wednesday afternoon with an arrest warrant to the suspect’s home, but he was gone.
Officers then drove to the farmhouse of the ex-girlfriend and mother, who had left the residence for their own safety. Finding the door unlocked, police began to make entry, Barker said.
As the door swung open, according to Barker, Ruth immediately blasted away at the officers with his AR-15-type rifle. The four closest detectives were struck by gunfire, and two staggered for cover as they returned fire.
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