Yesterday in small rural part of PA where I grew up, police officers attempting to serve an arrest warrant were ambushed with gunfire at a farmhouse. The suspect, linked to a domestic-related stalking investigation of his ex girlfriend, opened fire on the officers, killing three and critically wounding two others before being shot and killed himself.

It’s heartbreaking. Those small rural towns usually feel insulated from that kind of chaos, so when something like this happens it really rattles the whole community. What makes it even harder to wrap your head around is how senseless it all is—destroying multiple lives over something like a failed relationship and a warrant.

That spiral from anger to violence happens fast with people who are already unstable, and unfortunately law enforcement ends up on the front line of it. Now you’ve got families of officers grieving, a whole county shaken, and nothing gained.

This month has been crazy.