Video: Pa. State Police Trooper Shot in Ambush Released from Hospital

Another Pennsylvania State Police trooper remains in the hospital in good condition after he and a colleague were shot by a suspect with a rifle while responding to a report of gunfire in Thompson Township.

Aug. 11, 2025

3 min read

What to know

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper William Jenkins, shot in both arms during an ambush in Thompson Township last week, was released from the hospital Saturday;
Trooper Joseph Perechinsky, who was shot twice in the chest, remains hospitalized in good condition.
A 61-year-old man is accused of shooting and killing a neighbor before he was fatally shot after firing on troopers with a rifle.

By Robert Tomkavage

Source The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.

One of the Pennsylvania state troopers who were shot Thursday morning in Susquehanna County was released from Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center after treatment, Geisinger spokesman Matt Mattei confirmed Sunday via email.

William Jenkins — who was shot twice, once in each arm — was released from the hospital Saturday.

As of Sunday, the other trooper — Joseph Perechinsky, who was shot twice in the chest/torso area — remained hospitalized in “good condition,” Mattei said.

Joseph Perechinsky Sr., the Mayfield borough police chief, said it’s too early to determine when his son might be released from the hospital.

“It’s going to be a few more days, at least, before we have an answer of when he’s going to go home,” Perechinsky Sr. said Sunday. “He’s in good spirits and pretty good condition.”

Perechinsky Sr. praised Geisinger’s medical professionals for their continued care of his son.

“They’re phenomenal here,” he said. “They’re absolutely phenomenal.”

When the troopers responded to a report of gunfire along Route 171 in Thompson Twp. on Thursday around 11:20 a.m., Carmine Faino, 61, who had already killed his neighbor Lori Wasko, 57, ambushed them, police said.

A memorial service for Wasko — an employee of Barnes Kasson Hospital in Susquehanna for more than 20 years — will be held Saturday at 5 p.m. at Hennessey’s Funeral Home, 747 Jackson Ave., Susquehanna, according to her obituary on the Hennessey’s Funeral Home website. A viewing will be held at the funeral home from 2 p.m. until the service. Interment in Lanesboro Cemetery, Lanesboro, will take place Aug. 17 at 1 p.m., per the obit

Faino fired rounds from a rifle at the troopers from a distance and “from a position of superiority,” state police Col. Christopher Paris said Thursday during a news conference.

Despite his severe wounds, Perechinsky applied tourniquets to both of Jenkins’ arms, Paris said. He also commandeered a passing tractor-trailer and directed the driver to pull the rig across the road to block others from danger.

State police set up a perimeter around the crime scene and tried to negotiate with Faino, who was armed with a rifle and other weapons or explosive devices. However, Faino refused to comply with commands and was shot and killed during the incident, troopers said.

Jenkins, a trooper for 10 years, is a married father of four.

Perechinsky, a trooper for six years, is also the brother of Archbald borough Patrolman Edward Perechinsky.

Mayfield Mayor Alexander Chelik, a former Lakeland High School principal, said both troopers graduated from Lakeland — Jenkins in 2007 and Perechinsky in 2012.

At the time of their graduations, Jenkins planned to go to college to get a degree in criminal justice and Perechinsky wanted to be a state trooper, Chelik said.

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