3 slain officers in Pa. were hoping to arrest a stalking suspect

Police returning to a home in the rolling farmland of southern Pennsylvania in search of a stalking suspect who may have been trespassing encountered a barrage of gunfire that left three of them dead and two more wounded.

- MARK SCOLFORO, TASSANEE VEJPONGSA AND ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

A MEMORIAL for the slain officers is shown at the Northern York County Regional Police Department.

All three slain officers and a fourth who remains hospitalized worked for the Northern York County Regional Police Department, which called Wednesday a “dark and heartbreaking day.”

Neighboring departments stepped in Thursday to help shoulder the workload as agency personnel grieved.

The violence erupted Wednesday afternoon as officers sought Matthew James Ruth in a domestic situation that began a day earlier.

A law enforcement official who identified the 24-year-old as the shooting suspect spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Ruth was killed by police at the scene.