Custody Battle Turns Deadly - Pt. 2

Daniel Autenreith, 31, of Palmer Township, was going through divorce precedings, had lost custody of his three children, and visited his wife, who lived on Union Street in Nazareth on Sunday evening. He was in violation of a PFA filed against him on May 18 and brought a gun. Nazareth Police were called and responded at 7:45 p.m. Autenreith fled with his 9 year old son.

The police car that went north on South New at that time was travelling faster than any vehicle I'd seen on a road in town before with lights flashing and siren sounding.

Police followed the vehicle forty miles to Monroe County where Autenrieth's vehicle was stopped. He fired on the officers and shot two, killing one. While firing, two other officers pulled his child, still in the car to safety. Autenrieth was also killed in the shooting.

Governor Ed Rendell's office issued a release (read it here) mourning the death of 34 year old State Trooper, Joshua D. Miller. Flags are to be flown at half mast through Friday, June 12 in memory of Trooper Miller.

The news coverage of this event was extensive with alerts coming in today from all sources including wireservices, television, and newspaper both locally and nationwide.