Motive still unknown.
Via Local 21 News:
Two teenagers charged with attempted homicide on four officers allegedly told investigators they were targeting police with their gunfire, according to Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman.
Marquell Robert Rentas, 17, and Trenton Nace, 18, were arrested Friday morning after a lengthy search that resulted in a shelter-in-place order for a Columbia neighborhood.
The incident began at 3:25 a.m. when multiple police officers were called to 103 Bethel St. in Columbia for reports of shots fired.
Investigators said the police cruisers were fired at while they were approaching the area.
Numerous police departments, along with Lancaster County Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), responded to the area of Walnut Street between 6th and 7th Streets in the borough.
After shots were fired at officers, police identified Rentas as a potential suspect in the shootings and entered the Bethel Street home where he was known to be staying.
Rentas was taken into custody in a second-floor bedroom. A scoped rifle was found next to him, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney. Nace was taken into custody in a separate second-floor bedroom. He had live rounds and shell casings in his pants’ pocket.
The .22 caliber sniper rifle was purchased and possessed legally by Rentas’ aunt, according to Stedman.
In police interviews, Rentas admitted to firing shots from the upstairs bedroom window and that he “willfully” fired at police officers.
“The police made the commitment to serve and run towards danger when the rest of us run away, and our system must protect against those who would attack it,” Stedman said.
When Rentas was arrested by officers, he said, “I was shooting at you. [Redacted] you, police,” according to the affidavit.