A man fatally shot his neighbor in rural Pennsylvania and then unleashed a hail of gunfire on first responders, wounding two state troopers, running an EMT off the road and sniping a police drone from the sky, officials said.
The chaotic scene unfolded Thursday morning after Thompson resident Lori Wasko’s boyfriend called police to report gunfire. Police arrived to find the 57-year-old woman dead and her 61-year-old neighbor, Carmine Faino, lying in wait to ambush them.
One of the wounded troopers commandeered a tractor trailer to block the roadway and prevent other motorists from driving into harm’s way as police say Faino continued to shoot, targeting a police drone as he holed up near a propane tank that officials feared could be used as a bomb. He also fired at an SUV driven by an emergency worker before being shot and killed by police.
The Susquehanna County coroner’s office said an autopsy was conducted Friday morning on Faino, but the results were not immediately available. Police have not said what led to the shootings.
“I don’t want to speak to his motive leading up to this. I would say you can draw certain conclusions from the standpoint that we believe Faino shot our victim prior to our arrival and then from a position of tactical advantage fired dozens and dozens of rounds,” state police Col. Christopher Paris said.
He said Trooper Joseph Perechinsky applied a tourniquet to his injured colleague, Trooper William Jenkins, and, despite his own injuries, ordered the driver of a tractor trailer to block the road.
Perechinsky was “still thinking at that point in time, after being shot twice in the chest, what can I do to secure this location? What can I do to make sure nobody else gets hurt?” Paris said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro called the two troopers heroes and said Perechinsky “saved lives.”
“He acted decisively. He acted thoughtfully. And the work he did today exemplifies the absolute best of the Pennsylvania State Police,” Shapiro said.
A spokesperson for Geisinger, a hospital network where the two wounded troopers are being treated, said in an email that, as of late Friday morning, Jenkins was listed in good condition and Perechinsky in fair condition. Both had been wearing ballistic vests and are “lucky to be alive,” Paris said.
The shooting happened in Thompson Township, some 163 miles (262 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. The township has long been without its own police force and, like much of Susquehanna County, relies on the state police for emergency response, which is free to local taxpayers. About one-quarter of Pennsylvanians — largely in rural areas — receive some sort of police coverage from the state police.
Erika Mills, who lives near the site of the shooting, said the lack of a local police department has left the area less safe and more vulnerable to crime. She also said it made the response to the shootings more difficult.
“They know they have a large window of time before state police could be on scene,” she said.
___
Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine. Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Mark Levy in Harrisburg contributed.
