LANCASTER, PA - Authorities with the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) confirmed that one of their own was shot while serving a warrant in the city of Lancaster during the early morning hours on Wednesday, July 24th.
According to CBS News, officers with the department's Lancaster Criminal Investigation Unit were delivering the warrant on the 600 block of East Fulton Street in connection with an "ongoing investigation" just before 6:15 a.m. when a person fired their weapon at the officers. A corporal assisting with the case through PSP's Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) was shot in the arm by the armed suspect.
PSP said that the corporal sustained a non-life-threatening injury and was taken to nearby Lancaster General Hospital where he remains in stable condition and is expected to recover. According to NBC 10, the warrant was in connection to an ongoing armed robbery investigation.
At the time of serving the warrant, responding troopers announced that they were going to break into storage units along the block. As they used various tools to get into the units, a suspect opened fired from inside, striking the corporal. The armed suspect has been identified as 40-year-old Alfredo Maldonado-Gonzalez. He was taken into custody without further issue.
PSP said that while searching the storage unit, troopers found a stolen handgun that was believed to be the weapon used by Maldonado-Gonzalez. The suspect has been arraigned and charged on attempted criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, assault on law enforcement, discharge of a weapon into an occupied structure, possession of a firearm, recklessly endangering another person, and receiving stolen property. PSP confirmed that no shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident.
CBS21 reported that PSP said there is no public threat at this time and that the investigation is ongoing. In regards to the investigations related to the alleged armed robberies, court documents show that Maldonado-Gonzalez and another man — Timothy Mauldin have been accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of items from multiple people in the Lancaster area. A criminal complaint states that police said a ring camera inside of a home captured one of the robberies and showed Maldonado-Gonzalez.
In a separate incident, multiple people are in custody after a police officer and two others were injured in a shooting in Rahway, New Jersey, on Wednesday, July 24th. According to ABC 7, the Perth Amboy police detective was shot up to three times while executing a search warrant in front of 1076 Broad Street.
The officer was struck in the legs and taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He remains in stable condition. Two other people were injured during the shooting, including the suspected gunman. He was also shot in the leg.
Authorities said that the gunman was with others when police approached them. The gunman immediately opened fire on the officers as they ran away from the scene. All suspects have been taken into custody. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement, "Our officers deserve our gratitude for the enormous risks they take on a daily basis to keep our communities safe.
As the state's chief law enforcement officer, I am resolute in my commitment to work with our law enforcement and community partners to end gun violence in our state, and to do everything in our power to prevent this kind of violence against law enforcement in the future."
