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Authorities identified the man suspected of fatally shooting three Pennsylvania law enforcement officers and wounding two more and confirmed he was being investigated for stalking in an update on Sept. 18. The suspect was identified as Matthew J. Ruth by Tim Barker, the district attorney for York County.Records obtained by the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY Network, reveal that Ruth was charged with stalking, prowling and trespassing at a home in North Codorus Township in York County. The day before the shooting, the resident of the home reported he was seen wearing camouflage and peering into the home, an affidavit of probable cause showed. An arrest warrant had been issued for Ruth and the officers were searching for him on the afternoon of Sept. 17 when the suspect began firing at them, authorities said. Ruth was later killed by police at the scene. Two officers injured were in critical but stable condition as of Sept. 18. They have not been identified. The officers killed were identified as Detective Sergeant Cody Becker, Detective Mark Baker and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser."I personally knew them very, very well," Barker said. "They were wonderful."The shooting occurred in North Codorus Township, which has a population of just over 9,000 people and sits in York County, Pennsylvania. The evening of Sept. 17, police and emergency vehicles escorted the bodies of the fallen officers to the county coroner's office in a procession as hundreds lined the streets to pay their respects, reported the York Daily Record. A vigil is planned for the evening of Sept. 18 at a church in neighboring Spring Grove, Pennsylvania."These officers represent the very best of us. They put their lives on the line to serve their community, their Commonwealth, and their country," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said. "The prayers of 13 million Pennsylvanians are with the victims, their families, and the good people of York County on this devastating day – and all those who put on the uniform to keep our Commonwealth safe."Records reveal stalking report for man seen at York County homeThe day before the shooting, officers responded to the same home where the shooting happened for a report of alleged stalking. They charged a Hanover man, Ruth, for misdemeanor stalking, prowling at nighttime and summary criminal trespass, according to the records obtained by the York Daily Record.In an affidavit of probable cause, officers wrote that they were called to the home on the 1800 block of Haar Road in North Codorus Township at about 11:24 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, for a resident reporting a white male wearing camouflage was on her property and was looking into the residence with binoculars. Officers were unable to locate the man that day, the records said.Investigators spoke with the resident's daughter, who told them that on Aug. 20, 2025, someone set her pick-up truck on fire while it was sitting in the home's driveway, according to the affidavit. She said she believed her ex-boyfriend had done it, and also identified the ex in footage from a trail camera on the property as the same man who was at the home on Sept. 16.Officers noted in the affidavit that in images captured on the night of Sept. 16, the man "had an AR-15 style rifle slung across the chest while looking into the residence."What happened in the Pennsylvania shooting?The day after Ruth was allegedly spotted on his ex-girlfriend’s mother’s property, the five officers executed a search warrant at his home and spoke with his family, Barker said. Police left Ruth’s residence at 1:23 p.m. and returned to the home of his ex-girlfriend’s mother to continue searching for him.At 2:08 p.m. the officers arrived at the front door of that residence and once they opened the unlocked door, Ruth began to “immediately” fire multiple rounds from an AR-15 style rifle with a suppressor, according to Barker.Ruth repeatedly fired at Baker, Becker, Emenheiser and the unnamed detective, and “all four detectives went down,” Barker said.The unidentified deputy sheriff and detective positioned themselves to return fire, and Ruth struck the deputy sheriff and his vehicle, Barker said. Ruth allegedly eventually made his way up the road toward the officers and died after a “final exchange of gunfire” that ended at 2:10 p.m.Barker said the unidentified detective found Baker, Becker and Emenheiser deceased and began rendering aid to the deputy sheriff who was critically injured. Minutes after the shooting stopped, he said additional officers arrived on scene.Inside the home, Barker said police discovered bullet casings “from where the actor began his barrage of murderous activity,” and that Ruth had allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend’s mother’s black Labrador.Ruth’s ex-girlfriend and her mother were not home at the time of the shooting. Barker said police are still investigating Ruth’s motive, but “there is one motive that is clear for everything and that is the hateful scourge of domestic violence.”The first call about the shooting came in to a 911 call center in York County at about 2:10 p.m., officials said. The shooting prompted a large response from local, state and federal agencies to the 1800 block of Haar Road.Two injured in critical conditionThe two wounded officers, whose identities have not been released, were in critical but stable condition and were being treated at WellSpan York Hospital, Paris said at a news conference on Sept. 17.Not much is known about the officers killed and wounded, but York City Mayor Michael Helfrich said in a statement that Northern Regional Police Officers and York County Sheriff's Office were involved in the incident.Hostile gunfire: How many police officers have been killed in the line of duty in 2025?With Wednesday’s fatal shooting of three officers in rural Pennsylvania, more than three dozen law enforcement officers have been killed by hostile means in the line of duty in 2025, according to a national nonprofit organization that monitors such figures.In all, 65 officers have fallen in the line of duty this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page — including 37 killed by hostile gunfire or physical or vehicular assault. Others died as the result of explosions, accidents, job-related illness or other factors.Nearly 170 officers died in the line of duty in 2024, the site reported.-Marc RamirezWhere is North Codorus Township?North Codorus Township, where the shooting happened, is a rural community more than 100 miles west of Philadelphia and about 35 miles south of the state capital Harrisburg. It had 9,152 residents as of the 2020 Census.It's served by the Northern York County Regional Police Department and York County Sheriff's Office.The township covers an area of 32 square miles, according to its website."On behalf of the North Codorus Township Board of Supervisors and Staff, we have no words for what happened today in North Codorus Township," a statement on the site reads. "Our prayers are with North York County Regional Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Department and the families of the officers we lost today and the officers who were injured and their families."Contributing: Michael Loria and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; Teresa Boeckel, Harrison Jones and Mike Argento, the York Daily Record
