3 police officers killed, 2 injured in Pennsylvania shooting, police say

deuce-ace police force officers were killed and 2 were injured in a shot wed in the southern part of Pennsylvania, state police said.

"We grieve for the loss of life of three precious souls who served this county, served this commonwealth, served this country," Gov. Josh Shapiro said.

An investigation is occurring in the area of North Codorus Township, about 185 kilometres west of Philadelphia, not far from the Maryland line, authorities said.

According to Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris, York Hospital was treating two people in serious condition related to a police incident in northern York County.

The hospital said enhanced security protocols are in place.

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the violence against police "a scourge on our society." She said federal agents were on scene to support local officers.

"Please send prayers to the officers and those involved in the shooting in York County," Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said in a social media post.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said he is also headed to the scene. In a social media post, Sunday urged "all residents to follow the instructions of local law enforcement" and said he is "praying for all involved."

A local school district issued a shelter-in-place order, though it said schools and students were not involved in the shooting. The order was lifted later in the afternoon.

The district said in a statement that authorities "advised us to hold students and staff in our buildings as a precaution while several area roads are closed."

The medical response unfolded on a rural road in south-central Pennsylvania that winds through an agricultural area with a barn and farm fields.

The Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia said in a social media post that they were "monitoring the incident" in Pennsylvania and advised Mexican residents nearby to follow official instructions. A spokesperson for the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia said the post was "only a precautionary alert for our community."

The post now appears to have been deleted. It was not clear why the consulate made the post. 

Police have not provided any details about who was involved in the shooting.

Officers were keeping people well back from the scene in the area's rolling farmland, with some 30 police vehicles blocking off roads bordered by a barn, a goat farm and soybean and corn fields.

"Pennsylvania State Police, Northern Regional Police and numerous emergency responders are at the scene. The York County Commissioners are monitoring the situation closely and praying for all those involved," the county said in a statement.

An officer in the area was killed in February, when a man armed with a pistol and zip ties entered a hospital's intensive care unit and took staff members hostage before a shootout that left both the suspect and one officer dead.

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