LODD

Pa. state trooper shot, killed in northwestern Pa.
JOE MANDAK

The Associated Press

CRANBERRY, Pa. - A Pennsylvania state trooper was responding to a domestic call at a rural home when he got out of his police cruiser and was shot and killed.

State police say Trooper Paul G. Richey was shot shortly after he got to the home in Venango County on Wednesday morning. Richey had been a state trooper for 16 years.

State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski says Richey's sacrifice and service will not be forgotten.

The shooting happened in a rural area where homes are spread far apart and several schools were placed on lockdown as police searched for the gunman.

The area is near Oil City, which is about 80 miles north of Pittsburgh.