Cops offer profile of ambush killer

SCHOOLS CLOSED, kids stayed inside and authorities chased down several false sightings yesterday in their hunt for the suspect in a fatal ambush outside a rural Pennsylvania State Police barracks.

Police released new details about the background of Eric Frein, a 31-year-old self-taught survivalist who authorities said recently shaved his head in a wide Mohawk, evidently as "part of the mental preparation to commit this cowardly act," Lt. Col. George Bivens said yesterday afternoon.

Frein belonged to a military-simulation unit based in eastern Pennsylvania whose members play the role of soldiers from Cold War-era eastern Europe, Bivens told reporters.

"In his current frame of mind, Frein appears to have assumed that role in real life," he said.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials spent a fifth full day yesterday looking for the gunman who concealed himself outside the Blooming Grove barracks late Friday and shot two troopers with a rifle, killing one and wounding the second. Police named Frein the suspect after finding his abandoned SUV, which contained his driver's license and spent shell casings matching those at the crime scene.

Authorities have followed up on hundreds of tips, massing in a forested area at one point Wednesday after workers reported seeing an armed person wearing camouflage nearby. Police have been "getting sightings all over the place," but none have panned out so far, said Trooper Tom Kelly.

Frein, of Canadensis, Pa., is accused of killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson, a 38-year-old married father of two, and critically wounding Trooper Alex Douglass. Dickson's viewing was held yesterday in the rotunda of Marywood University in Scranton, with thousands of mourners paying respects. Gov. Corbett plans to attend Dickson's funeral today.

Police have warned the public that Frein is dangerous, calling him an anti-law-enforcement survivalist who has talked about committing mass murder.