Hannah Loesch
Staff Writer
Eric Matthew Frein, the marksman with extensive training as a survivalist, is still the target of an intense manhunt as of late September.
Police worry that the suspected cop killer, a 31-year-old wanted for the death of Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Bryon Dickson and the shooting of another officer a week and a half ago, is targeting other officials.
Police say he’d been planning his attack for months before the September 12 shooting of Dickson and Trooper Alex Douglass outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove.
"Based on our investigations, we know Frein has prepared and planned extensively for months or maybe years," Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Sunday.
According to investigators, Frein "has made statements about wanting to kill law enforcement officers and also to commit mass acts of murder," State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said last week.
"He has very strong feelings about law enforcement and seems to be very angry with a lot of things that go on in our society."
Bivens stated that while Frein planned his attack and retreat carefully, "we believe we are closing in on him."
Around 400 law enforcement officers, including members of the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are searching for Frein.
Police officials have focused their manhunt in on the woods not far from Frein's family home in Canadensis – approximately 20 miles from where Dickson and Douglass were shot.
Frein’s cagey behavior has led schools to cancel classes and provoked authorities to ask hunters to stay out of the woods in the area.
Although Frein is on the loose and may potentially be armed, there is no indication that he is a danger to anyone other than law enforcement, Bivens said.
"I am convinced that Frein has engaged in a personal battle with law enforcement, specifically the Pennsylvania State Police, and will likely stay focused on that fight," he said.
