Rural Pennsylvania man kills neighbor and wounds responding troopers in gunfire ambush, police say

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.

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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

This image provided by WNEP shows police near the scene of a shooting where two state troopers were injured, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025 near the village of Thompson in Susquehanna County, Pa. (WNEP via AP)

This image provided by WNEP shows police near the scene of a shooting where two state troopers were injured, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025 near the village of Thompson in Susquehanna County, Pa. (WNEP via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)