Authorities ID Pennsylvania trooper killed in ‘cowardly ambush’

Authorities have identified the Pennsylvania state trooper who was shot and killed during a “cowardly” ambush outside a barracks in the eastern part of the state, police said.

Cpl. Bryon Dixon and Trooper Alex T. Douglass were shot around 10:50 p.m. Friday during a shift change outside the barracks near the New York-Pennsylvania border, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan told reporters Saturday afternoon.

Dixon died on Saturday morning, while Douglass remains in critical, but stable, condition at an area hospital, Noonan said.

Investigators are still searching for the shooter or shooters involved in the attack, which Noonan said was “directed specifically at law enforcement and specifically the Pennsylvania State Police.”

Earlier on Saturday, local media reported that a 46-year-old man was being held and questioned in the shooting. But during a televised press briefing, Noonan said that man was just one of hundreds of potential “persons of interest” troopers will be interviewing.

Noonan described the attack as an ambush, and said Dixon and Douglass “really had no chance to defend themselves.”

“It’s a cowardly attack,” he said. “It’s an attack upon all of us.”

Dixon, a trooper for nearly seven years, had only transferred to the Blooming Grove barracks in recent months, Noonan said.

The motive in the shooting remains murky. During the 20-minute press briefing, Noonan alternatively described the shooting as an attack on law enforcement, the State Police and the government.

The State Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter, according to Col. George Bibins, and state troopers from New York and New Jersey are aiding in the investigation.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett extended his condolences to Dixon’s family on Saturday afternoon, and wished Douglass a speedy recovery.

“Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society,” 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.”

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