2 teens charged with shooting at Columbia police

• Marquell Rentas, 17, and Trenton Nace, 18, both of Columbia, are accused of attempting to kill police.
• Rentas was the shooter, while Nace acted as an accomplice, Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said.
• Both are being held in Lancaster County Prison on $2 million bail.

Describing the acts as “senseless” and “chilling,” Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman on Saturday said two teenagers have been charged with trying to kill police officers in a series of shootings that threw parts of Columbia into lockdown for several hours.

Marquell Rentas, 17, and Trenton Nace, 18, both of Columbia, are each charged with four counts of attempted criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer and related offenses. Both are being held in Lancaster County Prison on $2 million bail.

"There's absolutely no question, with incidents like this and incidents that we've seen in the recent past, the recent history, is that we — as a nation — are fighting for our soul: the soul of our community, and the soul of our country," Stedman said.

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During a news conference at the Columbia Borough Municipal Offices, Stedman repeatedly said the teenagers are presumed innocent until proven guilty. He provided the following account:

At 3:25 a.m. on Friday, a Columbia Borough police officer responded to call about shots being fired on Bethel Street near Locust Street. Then, he started to take fire.

Next, a West Hempfield Township police officer got there, and felt like he was being attacked. That happened to other first responders, too.

The shots were fired intermittently in bursts until 4:10 a.m.

Four members of law enforcement were shot at: Columbia Borough police Officer Brent Smith; East Hempfield Township police Officer Chad Nagle; and West Hempfield Township police Sgt. Tim Coyle and Officer Michael Murray. No one was hurt.

Eventually, police were able to identify Rentas as a “possible suspect.” They also learned that he was staying nearby at his aunt’s home.

After getting a key from a family member, police took Rentas and Nace — who are cousins — into custody.

When Rentas was in the back of a police cruiser, he told an officer, “I was shooting at you.” He also used expletives toward the police.

During an interview, Rentas admitted to shooting a .22-caliber rifle. Meanwhile, Nace told investigators that he was handing him bullets and collecting the shell casings, Stedman said.

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Stedman went on to talk about how law enforcement is under attack, adding that it’s “not just rhetoric anymore.”  Police officers, he said, are “literally are the force that stands between order, justice, civilization and a land of laws — and a land of anarchy and chaos."

“These men and women, these police officers, have made the commitment to serve, to protect the community, to protect all of us,” he said. “They've made the commitment, while the rest of us run from danger, to run toward danger."

No one answered the door at Rentas' or Nace's homes on Saturday. When reached, several family members declined to be interviewed.

Columbia Borough Police Chief Jack Brommer thanked the community, as well as the various departments from Lancaster and York counties that responded, for their support.

The situation was “highly stressful.” But officers had a definite focus on what needed to be done, he said.

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"Our officers are professional,” Brommer said. “They do their job to the best of their ability, and they're committed to serving and protecting this community."

Contact Dylan Segelbaum at 771-2102. 

'We are very thankful'

During a news conference on Saturday, Columbia Borough Police Chief Jack Brommer thanked people in the community for their support.

Police, he said, received many calls and well-wishes, as well as food including pizza, cupcakes and sandwiches.

"And this is the community we live in," Brommer said, "and we are very thankful."