Police say .308 caliber rifle used to shoot trooper

By Nathan Mayberg
Blooming Grove — The person or persons who killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper and wounding another late Friday used a .308 caliber rifle and may have had hunting or military experience, Lt. Colonel George Bivens said at a press conference Monday.

Corporal Bryon Dickson, 38, of Dunmore was killed outside the Blooming Grove barracks at about 10:50 p.m. Friday. Trooper Alex Douglass, 31, survived the shooting and was reported to be conscious at Geisinger-Community Medical Center in Scranton on Monday, where he was visited by Governor Tom Corbett.

Police are still searching for the shooter. Two officers said Dickson had been struck twice and Douglass once.

On Monday, Bivens had a message for "the perpetrators" responsible for committing this "heinous act":

"You are a coward," he said. "You committed this spineless act and attacked defenseless troopers, shot them, they had no opportunity to defend themselves. And you did it from a place of hiding and then you ran. What a horrendous act to commit. I want you to know that our troopers are working around the clock to bring you to justice."

In his statement, Bivens said the perpetrators may have "ongoing issues with law enforcement or the government. This attack could be directly related to an incident that was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police at Blooming Grove. The actors may very well have been vocal about this complaint to others."

Bivens said police were looking for a person "who may be an avid hunter or has formal firearms training, specifically with a rifle. This training may have been received through the military or law enforcement. We also know that this person or persons made practice at a shooting range."

On Sunday, dozens of state police and federal law enforcement officials converged at the Blooming Grove Baptist Church, which was the command center for the investigation and search operation following the shooting. The barracks was considered a crime scene until Sunday afternoon, when the command center was moved back to the barracks. State police are also using the Pike County Emergency Center for operations.

On Monday, dozens of law enforcement vehicles overflowed the barracks parking lot and ran along the side of the road. Route 402, where the barracks is located, is a three-mile stretch of heavily wooded hunting lands on both sides of the road as it heads north. Going west, the dense forest extends all the way to Scranton.

Neighbors uneasy
Residents who live along Route 402 near the barracks suggested that the new 100-mile long Susquehanna-Roseland power lines could have given the shooter an easy getaway. Pike Power & Light Electric Utilities installed the lines through the state game lands across the road from the barracks, connecting north and south pathways with Routes 84 and 6. The neighbors say the attacker may have used side roads that extend from Route 402 into the forest for the power lines.

One woman who lives near the barracks declined to identify herself out of fear of another attack. She said she was taking her four children to stay with a relative until the shooter or shooters were found.

A neighbor said he believed the attacker likely had military experience to have shot two troopers at night from what he believed to be a far range. Speculating, he said, "it's something that they've done before."

Sally Barry, a security officer who lives on Route 402 with her husband, Joedy, a corrections officer at Pike County Correctional Facility, and their family, said she was not allowed to return home Saturday after her overnight shift at Cove Haven Resort. State Police closed off Route 402 temporarily while they investigated. Barry was allowed to return home on Sunday.

"I'm not completely scared to run away," she said. "You try to avoid the cities and all that good stuff, and then it happens here."

Barry said, "My heart goes out to the family."

Joedy Barry said that at the time of the incident he had been asleep after a long day at work. After his wife called him about the attack, he put on all of the lights in the house and made sure the doors were locked.

"It doesn't surprise me nowadays," Joedy said. "Anything can happen anytime, anywhere."

Residents along the road said they were used to hearing shooting in the area during hunting season.

"This is a huge hunting area," Joedy said.

On Sunday and Monday, unidentified police officers wearing military fatigues and carrying assault rifles walked to and from the forest as they searched for the attacker. On Monday afternoon, unidentified officers with assault rifles were assembled at the end of Wedgewood Drive, in a development known as Blue Heron Woods, which has only one house on a winding road clear-cut through the forest and ending in a turnaround circle that abuts the state forest. Police at the scene declined to comment and blocked off the end of the road. Two tow trucks left the area.

Shari Peak, a construction worker from Simpson, was directing traffic on Route 402 as workers paved the road.

"It's a little freaky when you hear things in the woods now," she said.

Dickson was married and the father of two sons. He had just celebrated his tenth wedding anniversary.

He had served in the U.S. Marines. He was transferred to the Blooming Grove station as a patrol supervisor in June and had recently taken time from his law enforcement duties to share with The Pike County Courier facts about the legal ramifications of carrying drug paraphernalia in Pennsylvania.

Those wishing to help the Dickson family may make a contribution to the Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II Memorial Fund c/o NBT Bank 1230 O’Neill Highway Dunmore, PA 18512.

Those wishing to provide a tip to the State Police can call 1-866-326-7256.