By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• Delaware State Police investigators say the Dec. 23 shooting death of Cpl. Matthew Snook at a New Castle DMV was a deliberate attack on law enforcement.
• The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Rahman Rose, had posted beliefs that police were surveilling him prior to the incident.
• Snook was ambushed from behind while working an overtime assignment at the DMV reception area.
• A responding New Castle County police officer fatally shot the suspect; Snook later died at a hospital.
WILMINGTON, DE — Delaware State Police investigators have concluded that the shooting death of Corporal Matthew T. Snook at the Karen L. Johnson Division of Motor Vehicles on Dec. 23 was a deliberate attack targeted at law enforcement.
AP
Officers responded around 2 p.m. to reports of an active shooter at the DMV on Hessler Boulevard in New Castle County, where Snook was working an overtime overtime reception assignment. Officials said the suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Rahman Rose, approached from behind and fired a handgun at Snook.
Investigators said Rose had no known criminal contact with law enforcement involving Snook but had posted on social media that he believed police were targeting and harassing him, a condition authorities described as a belief in “gang stalking.”
After shooting Snook, who pushed a DMV employee out of harm’s way, Rose remained inside the building and fired at responding officers. A New Castle County police officer shot Rose through a window; he later died at a hospital. Snook was transported to a local hospital, where he also succumbed to his injuries.
A second trooper sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and two civilians were treated for minor, non-gunshot trauma, police said. The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit continues to investigate and has urged witnesses or those with information to come forward.