Pennsylvania cop killer identified as Matthew James Ruth

Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News on Sep 18, 2025

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The man who fatally shot three police officers in southern Pennsylvania was identified Thursday as Matthew James Ruth.

Ruth, 24, was killed in the shootout on Wednesday, in which he wounded two additional officers, authorities said.

Detective Sgt. Cody Becker, Detective Mark Baker and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser were killed in the shooting, York County District Attorney Tim Barker said Thursday. All three were members of the Northern York County Regional Police Department.

Officers arrived at the home in North Codorus Township to arrest Ruth on charges of misdemeanor stalking, misdemeanor prowling at nighttime and summary criminal trespass, according to charging documents.

Instead, Ruth was lying in wait and opened fire on the officers, Barker said. He started shooting as soon as Emenheiser opened the front door of the farmhouse, striking Emenheiser, Baker and Barker, along with a fourth NYCRPD officer who was wounded.

Ruth’s ex-girlfriend lived at the home with her mother, Barker said. She told police that her truck had been set on fire a few weeks ago, and she believed Ruth was responsible.

Police were first called to the home on Tuesday night, when the ex-girlfriend and her mother reported a man with binoculars standing in the driveway and peering into the house, according to Barker. Trail cameras showed the man holding an assault-style rifle, he said.

Cops did not find Ruth that night despite searching the area on foot and with a drone. They spotted his truck nearby, but it was empty, according to investigators.

Officers returned the next day with a warrant for Ruth’s arrest. They had searched his primary residence about an hour earlier, but he was not there, Barker said.

The ex-girlfriend and her mother had left the house beforehand. Barker said Thursday that if they had stayed behind, “they would have been killed immediately by the actor. That is not speculation. That is the absolute only reasonable inference from all actions.”

In addition to the four detectives who were shot at the front door, a fifth NYCRPD officer and a York County Sheriff’s deputy were on the scene. Those two engaged Ruth in a firefight after he ambushed the first four officers, Barker said.

Ruth shot and wounded the sheriff’s deputy, and the final NYCRPD officer fired the last shot and killed Ruth, Barker said. He attempted to render aid to the fallen officers, as a massive law enforcement presence responded to the deadly scene.

The two wounded officers were in critical but stable condition at a local hospital, authorities said Wednesday. They have not been publicly identified.

Ruth also killed a dog belonging to his ex-girlfriend and her mother, Barker said. The dog was found dead in the farmhouse basement.

The ex-girlfriend told police that she and Ruth dated for only a brief time, and that he had never visited her home or even been invited to the residence.

“The officers involved in this incident went to a home to protect a woman and her children,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “They encountered a force of evil.”