By Holly Ramer
Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. — The man who fatally shot a Delaware State Police trooper at a DMV office believed he was being monitored and harassed by law enforcement but had no prior interaction with the officer he killed, investigators said Friday.
State Police Cpl. Matthew Snook was working an overtime assignment at the New Castle Department of Motor Vehicles reception desk on Dec. 23 when Rahman Rose entered as a customer, approached him from behind and shot him with a handgun, state police last month. In a final update Friday, police said Rose had told others that he believed police were targeting him and had posted on social media about being the victim of “gang stalking,” which authorities described as a belief that one is being surveilled and harassed by government entities.
| DOWNLOAD: 26 on 2026: A police leadership playbook
“Based on the totality of the evidence, detectives concluded this was a deliberate and targeted attack on law enforcement,” the state’s homicide unit said.
A New Castle county police officer shot Rose through a window from outside the building. Rose later died at a hospital.
Rose, 44, had previously lived in Connecticut and was living in Wilmington, Delaware, without a permanent address at the time of the shooting. His limited contact with Delaware law enforcement in the year prior to the shooting involved no criminal allegations or arrests, and none of that contact involved Snook.
Investigators said he first entered the DMV office on the morning of Dec. 23 and left a short time later. He returned again a few hours later and ambushed the officer, state police said. Snook shielded a DMV employee as he was shot at multiple times.
Investigators earlier said Rose allowed customers to leave but fired multiple rounds at law enforcement as they approached the building.
Snook, who went by “Ty,” was a 10-year veteran of the state police force.
“Ty’s courageous act of strength and sacrifice reflected the core values he lived by every day – protecting others with bravery, selflessness and steady integrity,” police said Friday.
The Staccato HD C4X was co-developed with a law-enforcement special-surveillance team to ensure it is duty-ready
“Every day, if you go out there with the right mindset, you’ll be helping somebody,” retired Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile said “Not every job is like that.”
“Do the right thing and what’s required by law. Move over so that these first responders can go home safely to their families,” Waupaca Sheriff Timothy Wilz stated
The movie centers on a real Miami-Dade officer who uncovered more than $20 million stuffed inside Home Depot buckets — but how much of the wild story actually happened?
___
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
A window on the next 5 centuries of the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world
