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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Man killed his neighbor then ‘ambushed’ and shot 2 state troopers | |
on Pennsylvania highway, officials say | |
By Danny Freeman, Taylor Romine, CNN | |
Updated: | |
12:38 PM EDT, Fri August 8, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
A suspect is dead after he shot and killed his neighbor Thursday before | |
wounding two responding Pennsylvania state troopers, including one who | |
managed to commandeer a tractor trailer to protect drivers from gunfire | |
on a state highway, officials said. | |
The troopers, Joseph Perechinsky and William Jenkins, were responding | |
to a report of shots fired when they were “immediately fired upon and | |
ambushed,” Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris told | |
reporters Thursday. | |
The suspect, identified as 61-year-old Carmine Faino, was shot and | |
killed after he refused to comply with commands, police said. | |
Investigators believe Faino shot his neighbor, 57-year-old Lori Wasko, | |
while she was near her car in front of her residence, Paris said. Wasko | |
died from her injury, he said. | |
The victim’s boyfriend reported the shooting about 11:17 a.m. local | |
time, near State Route 171 in Thompson Township, police said. | |
The two troopers went to the state highway and got out of their vehicle | |
to try and figure out where the gunfire was coming from, when they were | |
ambushed “from a very good distance away,” Paris said. | |
“They were ambushed by several rounds of rifle fire from a position | |
of tactical superiority,” the colonel added. | |
Shots were also fired at a responding EMT’s vehicle, which veered off | |
State Route 171 and crashed, Paris said, adding the EMT was injured and | |
is in stable condition. | |
While severely injured, Perechinsky was able to commandeer a tractor | |
trailer driving down the road and position the semi-rig across the | |
roadway so people wouldn’t be hit by potential gunfire, according to | |
the colonel. | |
Perechinsky also managed to place a tourniquet on his fellow | |
trooper’s arms. | |
Additional troopers and local law enforcement rushed to the scene and | |
set up a perimeter as the wounded officers were airlifted to a local | |
hospital, where they were in stable condition Thursday night. | |
At the scene, law enforcement tried to negotiate with the barricaded | |
suspect and attempted to use a drone, which he “shot down actively | |
with a firearm,” the colonel said. | |
“We attempted at length to try and negotiate with Mr. Faino,” Paris | |
said. “At one point, I will tell you he was sitting on a propane | |
tank, which caused further concern that he had attempted to turn that | |
into an improvised explosive device, and we were concerned about other | |
weapons.” | |
The suspect was shot and killed after he “refused to comply with | |
commands,” police said. | |
A motive wasn’t immediately shared by law enforcement. | |
Troopers ‘lucky to be alive’ | |
The troopers are “very lucky to be alive,” Paris said, adding that | |
Perechinsky had placed a tourniquet on his fellow trooper’s arms | |
while he himself was injured with two gunshot wounds. A third trooper | |
responded and was able to get the injured troopers out despite “their | |
patrol cars being riddled with bullets,” he said. | |
Perechinsky has been a trooper for six years, while Jenkins has been on | |
the force for 10 years, Paris said. | |
Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke while on his way to visit Jenkins after seeing | |
Perechinsky, who the governor said was “in good spirits.” | |
Shapiro described Perechinsky as “a real hero in the community,” | |
saying his actions “exemplifies the absolute best of the Pennsylvania | |
State Police.” | |
The district attorney’s office is conducting a use of force | |
investigation and the troopers have been put on leave pending results, | |
which is typical for the situation, Paris said. | |
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the | |
first name of Lori Wasko. | |
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