The Killing of Delaware Trooper Ty Snook at the Wilmington DMV

Cpl. Matthew T. "Ty" Snook was at the welcome desk of a Delaware DMV office when a man who had just taken a queue ticket shot him from behind. It was about 1:59 p.m. on December 23, 2025, at the Karen L. Johnson Division of Motor Vehicles on Hessler Boulevard in New Castle, just outside Wilmington. Snook, a Delaware State Police Corporal Grade One working an overtime assignment, was 34. This post sets out what the State Police investigation found and what has followed.

Who He Was

Snook was from Hockessin. He graduated from Saint Mark's High School and wrestled at the University of Maryland. He joined the Delaware State Police on March 6, 2015, as part of the 88th Recruit Class, and spent his whole career at Troop 6 in Prices Corner, working C-shift. At his funeral, his troop commander, Capt. Kerry Reinbold, said Snook had helped train more than 20 recruits since 2018. He is survived by his wife, Lauren, and their one-year-old daughter.

What Happened Inside the DMV

The State Police published their findings on January 16, 2026. According to that release, Rahman Rose, 44, walked into the DMV at about 11:30 a.m., sat briefly in the driver services area and left without doing any business. He came back at about 1:56 p.m. and took a ticket at the welcome desk, where Snook and a DMV employee were stationed. The two men did not interact.

About three minutes later, police said, Rose came up behind the desk and fired several rounds over a glass partition from a handgun he had kept concealed. The release says Snook "valiantly and heroically shielded the DMV employee from harm before he was struck again by additional gunfire."

What followed, in the State Police account, points to who the target was. Rose "allowed and encouraged several customers to leave the building while he remained inside," then "appeared to wait for responding law enforcement." Investigators found that the only other shots he fired were at the officers who arrived. At about 2:07 p.m., a New Castle County police officer shot Rose through a window from outside the building. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Officials said at the time that a second trooper and a 40-year-old woman were hurt, neither by gunfire, and that a 35-year-old woman was checked for shortness of breath and declined a trip to the hospital.

What Investigators Found

Rose is the gunman identified by police. Because he died that afternoon, he was never charged or tried, and what is known about him comes from the State Police investigation. He had previously lived in Connecticut and had been staying in the Wilmington area without a permanent address.

Detectives found no prior relationship, interaction or dispute between Rose and Snook. According to the State Police, Rose had told people who knew him that he believed police were targeting him, had recently posted anti-police content on social media, and had described himself as a victim of "gang stalking," which the release defines as a belief that someone is constantly surveilled and harassed by the government or law enforcement. Detectives concluded, as the Associated Press reported, that this was "a deliberate and targeted attack on law enforcement." They found no evidence that he acted for or with any group or other person.

The handgun had been bought legally by Rose in Connecticut in 2021. The State Police said he was not prohibited from buying or possessing guns, then or later, and had a limited criminal record. He had limited contact with Delaware police in the year before the shooting, and none of it was criminal in nature, led to an arrest or involved Snook.

The Response

Gov. Matt Meyer called the shooting "an act of pure evil" and said that without the heroism of several troopers and other officers, "the consequences could have been so much worse." Col. William Crotty, the State Police superintendent, said: "His last actions were that of a hero – a hero who saved lives today."

On December 29, Lauren Snook and Snook's brother, Josh, spoke at a candlelight vigil in Hockessin. "He lived his life with integrity and heart, and that's how we choose to remember him here tonight," she said.

His funeral was held January 5, 2026, at the University of Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, with thousands of mourners and officers from across the region. Burial was private. "He planned to come home, he planned a life, and when his life was taken, his legacy was not," his wife told the crowd. Meyer said there are Delawareans alive today "because Ty lived and because he served."

What Has Happened Since

On January 13, U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester introduced a Senate resolution honoring Snook's life and bravery.

The DMV stayed closed for almost three months. It reopened March 10, 2026, with changes made on advice from police and employees. There is now a single entrance and exit, and every customer passes through a weapons detection system staffed by private security, which the state has put in at all of its DMV facilities. The greeter station was rebuilt as a glass-enclosed area with a trooper posted inside, and a separate room was added for watching video of the lobby. Appointments were required for the first month. Inside, a wall honors Snook with a collage of words his wife used in her eulogy.

On April 17, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund announced that Snook's name would be engraved on the memorial in Washington, D.C., one of 363 officers added this year, with the names formally recognized at the 38th Annual Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall on May 13. In early May, Lauren Snook spoke at the 53rd annual Delaware Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service on Legislative Mall in Dover.

The State Police's January release ends on Snook rather than on the man who shot him: "Ty's courageous act of strength and sacrifice reflected the core values he lived by every day—protecting others with bravery, selflessness, and steadfast integrity."

Sources

1. Delaware State Police: Update of line-of-duty death investigation at Wilmington DMV (Jan. 16, 2026)
2. Delaware State Police mourns Corporal Grade One Matthew T. "Ty" Snook (Dec. 24, 2025)
3. Delaware State Police: Funeral arrangements for Cpl/1 Matthew T. "Ty" Snook (Dec. 27, 2025)
4. ABC News: Delaware state trooper hailed as hero after being shot from behind (Dec. 26, 2025)
5. AP via HuffPost: Man who killed Delaware trooper at DMV office had said he was being harassed by police (Jan. 16, 2026)
6. WHYY: Police identify suspect in Delaware trooper killing
7. 6abc: Candlelight vigil for Cpl. Matthew "Ty" Snook (Dec. 30, 2025)
8. 6abc: Fallen Delaware State Police Corporal Matthew "Ty" Snook laid to rest (Jan. 6, 2026)
9. Sen. Chris Coons: Resolution honoring Cpl. Matthew "Ty" Snook (Jan. 13, 2026)
10. Delaware Public Media: The Wilmington DMV is open again with safety changes (Mar. 13, 2026)
11. NBC10 Philadelphia: Delaware DMV to reopen months after state trooper's murder (Mar. 2026)
12. WBOC: Slain DSP Cpl. Snook to be honored at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (Apr. 17, 2026)
13. Delaware House Republicans: Honoring fallen officers (May 8, 2026)

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