Pennsylvania state trooper killed with high-caliber rifle in shootout identified

Publish date: 2024-03-29

Two Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) troopers shot in Juniata County were identified by PSP at the State Police headquarters in Harrisburg during a press conference.

Other details were also provided during the briefing:

Officials said Tpr. Jacques F. Rougeau Jr. was killed and Lt. James A. Wagner was wounded in separate encounters with the same shooter on Saturday.

Tpr. Rougeau was assigned to the Troop G, Lewistown Station and enlisted in the PSP in June 2020 as a member of the 160th cadet class.

Upon graduation, he was assigned to Troop J, York before transferring to Troop G, Lewistown in March of this year. He was 29 years old.

He becomes the 104th member of the PSP to make the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life in the line of duty.

He leaves behind a wife and was just about to celebrate his three-year anniversary with PSP.

Wagner is currently listed in critical condition at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Lt. Wagner, age 45, is assigned as the station commander at the Troop G, Bedford Station. He enlisted in the PSP in September 2002.

This is a tragedy for the Pennsylvania State Police,” said Colonel Christopher Paris, Commissioner of the PSP. “We ask for your continued prayers for not only our Troopers but also their families.

The shooter, identified as Brandon Stine, age 38, of Thompsontown, Juniata County, was killed in an exchange of gunfire after the shootings.

The incident, spanning multiple crime scenes, started at 11 a.m. Saturday morning when State Police say Stine showed up at the Troop G station in Lewistown.

Armed with a high-caliber rifle, officials said he opened fire on multiple patrol vehicles.

This led to a search throughout the area, with State Police calling it a game of cat and mouse.

They said during the search Stine was calling 9-1-1.

Around 12:45 p.m., officials say Lt. Wagner was shot by Stine.

Then, around 2:30 p.m., State Police said Tpr. Rougeau was ambushed by Stine and shot through the windshield of his patrol vehicle.

After that, things quickly began to end.

Police said they surrounded Stine in a restaurant parking lot where a shootout happened.

In the video, a large amount of bullets are audibly heard; just some of the hundreds of rounds that police say were fired.

Officials said the only comparison they could think of is that it was a warzone.

Anyone interested in donating to assist the troopers’ families can send a check to the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association (PSTA) at 3625 Vartan Way, Harrisburg, PA 17110. The check should be made out to the “Survivor’s Fund,” with the name of the trooper written in the “memo” portion of the check.

In accordance with the United States flag code, Shapiro ordered Commonwealth flags on all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings, and grounds to fly at half-staff immediately in honor of Rougeau.

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