Lloyd Reed

NEW FLORENCE — Organizers expect hundreds of officers from around the country to attend the funeral of a slain western Pennsylvania police officer.

The funeral for St. Clair Township Officer Lloyd Reed is being held at the Cambria County War Memorial, a 4,000-seat hockey arena in Johnstown.

Thirty-one-year-old Ray Shetler Jr. is jailed on a charge of criminal homicide because state police say he fatally shot the 54-year-old officer after Reed responded to a domestic dispute at Shetler’s New Florence home on Saturday night.

Police say Shetler told them he didn’t realize Reed was an officer and fired only after Reed shot at him as he exited the home with a rifle.

Shelter, who was hit in the shoulder by one shot, was treated at a hospital, but has since been jailed on a single charge of criminal homicide.

The .270-caliber Remington rifle gun was found in some woods, hidden under some leaves in thick brush, close to where troopers arrested Shetler.

The Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation says they’ve been fielding inquiries from police nationwide about today’s 11 a.m. funeral.