What we know about Matthew Ruth’s ex-girlfriend, who accused him of stalking her and torching her truck before he killed three officers?

York County law enforcement officials detailed how a gunman ambushed police officers on Wednesday, September 17, killing three and wounding two others. Authorities have identified the suspect as Matthew James Ruth and confirmed he was involved in a stalking incident. The attack took place outside the North Codorus Township home of the suspect’s ex-girlfriend, where officers had gone to arrest 24-year-old Ruth on multiple charges stemming from a reported stalking incident the day before.

Authorities said Ruth opened fire on the officers and was fatally shot during the standoff. Three officers died at the scene, while two others were critically injured but later listed as stable on Sept. 18.

The stalking incident

On Tuesday night, police received a call from a woman, the mother of a woman’s ex-girlfriend, who reported seeing a man outside wearing camouflage and holding binoculars. When two officers arrived, they found a black pickup truck parked near the road, but no one was on the property, according to NewsNationNow.


The officers spoke with the woman and her daughter, who suspected the man might be the daughter’s ex-boyfriend, though they were not certain. They showed police a photo captured by a trail camera, which appeared to show a man using a scope device to look at the house. The daughter said the image resembled her ex. Officers also noted that the man in the photograph was holding an AR-15-style rifle.

Who is Matthew Ruth’s ex-girlfriend?

As per law enforcement, Ruth's ex-girlfriend has not been named, but News from the States claimed that they only dated briefly.

She also claimed that the ex-boyfriend set fire to her truck in August while it was parked in her driveway. According to an affidavit obtained by USA Today, she never filed charges for the incident. Instead, she and her mother put up the trail camera.

The motive

The district attorney stated that a thorough investigation would be required to determine the exact steps that led to the shooting, but that the overall motive was simply "domestic violence."

“There is one motive though that is clear for everything, and that is the hateful scourge of domestic violence,” Barker said, as quoted by News From The States. He also stated that the officers involved in the incident saved the lives of the shooter's ex-girlfriend and mother, implying that he would have shot them instead.