Milwaukee Police Honor Guard members stand at attention before a rifle salute during a Milwaukee County September 11, 2001 Remembrance Ceremony at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center on Sept. 11, 2022.

An attack in Pennsylvania that killed three officers and critically injured two others is now among the nation’s deadliest tragedies of the last 25 years involving law enforcement.

In what officials say was a horrific scene on Wednesday, Sept. 17, officers following up on a domestic violence-related issue were met with a hail of gunfire in North Codorus Township, a rural area about 10 miles outside of York, Pennsylvania.

"We've got to do better as a society," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference following Wednesday's attack. "As a community, it's time ... to make sure that those whose lives were lost today − that something constructive can come from that in their memory that stops this kind of violence in the future, that protects those people who put on those uniforms for us, makes it so these trauma surgeans don't have to patch this many people up."

From Charlotte, North Carolina and to Oakland, California, far too many U.S. cities have seen attacks that have left multiple officers dead, their families mourning and a community reeling.

Here are the deadliest attacks on police in the last 25 years.

Charlotte, North Carolina

  • When: April 29, 2024
  • Officers affected: 4 killed, 4 injured
  • What happened: Police were attacked while attempting to serve a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon at a suburban home in Charlotte. The suspect opened fire at the officers with a "high-powered rifle" as they approached the home, officials said. The attacker, Terry Clark Hughes Jr., was killed by return fire.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • When: July 17, 2016
  • Officers affected: 3 killed, 3 wounded
  • What happened: A gunman ambushed police as they responded to a 911 call less than a mile from police headquarters in Baton Rouge. The attacker, identified as Gavin Long, was killed at the scene.

Dallas, Texas

  • When: July 7, 2016
  • Officers affected: 5 killed, 7 wounded
  • What happened: In what the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund said was the deadliest attack on law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001, a gunman shot police ambush-style as protesters marched in downtown Dallas against the fatal police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said at the time. The lone gunman in the attack, Micah Xavier Johnson, was killed by a police-controlled remote explosive device about 45 minutes after authorities began trying to negotiate with him, police said.

Lakewood, Washington:

  • When: Nov. 29, 2009
  • Officers affected: 4 killed
  • What happened: A gunman ambushed officers sitting in a coffee shop near Tacoma. Police killed the gunman, Maurice Clemmons, a few days after the attack.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • When: April 4, 2009
  • Officers affected: 3 killed, 2 injured
  • What happened: A gunman opened fire on police responding to a domestic disturbance 911 call at his home. The gunman, Richard Poplawski, is on death row after being convicted of three counts of first-degree murder.

Oakland, California

When: March 21, 2009

Officers affected: 4 killed, 1 wounded

What happened: In separate attacks, a gunman killed four Oakland police officers on the same day. After killing two motorcycle officers during a routine traffic stop, the gunman opened fire and killed two SWAT officers responding to a tip about the shooter’s location. An officer killed the gunman, Lovelle Mixon.

Other major deadly police attacks

Though the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks weren't aimed specifically at police, it's considered the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history, with 72 officers killed, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

And on April 19, 1995, eight federal law enforcement officers and a local sheriff's deputy were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Other notable attacks before that include the murder of four agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who were serving a search warrant on a Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 28, 1993.

In another notable attack, a bomb at a Milwaukee police station killed nine officers on Nov. 24, 1917, in what was considered the single deadliest attack in U.S. law enforcement history before 9/11, according to Milwaukee police. The culprits, believed to be an anarchist terrorist cell, were never caught.

Contributing: USA TODAY archives

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers executions for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deadly attacks on police: Is the Pennsylvania assault the worst in recent history?

Reporting by Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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