Rural Pennsylvania man kills neighbor and wounds responding troopers in
gunfire ambush, police say
[August 08, 2025]
By MARK SCOLFORO, MARC LEVY and LISA BAUMANN
A 61-year-old man shot and killed his neighbor in rural Pennsylvania
Thursday and then ambushed first responders, wounding two state troopers
and causing an EMT to crash a vehicle while firing dozens of rounds from
a semiautomatic weapon, police said. The attacker was later killed by
police.
The boyfriend of the woman who was killed, Lori Wasko, called 911 from
their home near Thompson to report that shots had been fired, state
police Col. Christopher Paris said. Police did not say why the suspect,
identified as Carmine Faino, decided to kill 57-year-old Wasko outside
her home and then open fire on the others.
Police said after shooting troopers Joseph Perechinsky and William
Jenkins, Faino shot a police drone from the sky while sitting next to a
propane tank they feared could be used as a bomb.
Perechinsky, with two chest wounds, commandeered a tractor-trailer that
was driving by to block the roadway and prevent other motorists from
driving into harm’s way.
He ordered the driver to "pull his semi rig across the roadway so that
more people would not drive down that roadway and potentially be
subjected to the fire,” Paris said.
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.
Faino also fired at an SUV operated by a responding emergency worker,
Paris said, and the man was injured when that vehicle veered off the
roadway. He was being treated for injuries, Paris said late Thursday.
“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,” Paris said.
Investigators are looking into Faino's past, Paris said. He was Wasko's
across-the-street neighbor, living several hundred yards (meters) away.
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Police officers block the street leading to where two Pennsylvania
state troopers were ambushed and shot Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, near
the village of Thompson in Susquehanna County, Pa. (AP Photo/Aimee
Dilger)
Both troopers, who had been wearing ballistic vests, were in stable
condition with serious injuries Thursday night and “are very lucky
to be alive,” Paris said.
The wounded Perechinsky applied a tourniquet to Jenkins before two
other troopers were able to help rescue them, Paris said. The
troopers were flown to hospitals for medical care.
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.
Faino had a rifle and did not comply with demands, a state police
statement said. He was “ultimately shot and killed during the
incident,” police said.
The shooting happened about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the
borough of Thompson, some 163 miles (262 kilometers) north of
Philadelphia.
Erika Mills, who lives less than a mile from where the shootings
took place, said it made for a terrifying day in a community that is
usefully peaceful.
“This is a very very quiet town. There has never been anything
comparable,” she said.
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