A retired Pennsylvania state trooper has been identified as the man who shot and killed two Pennsylvania Turnpike workers in a tollbooth robbery attempt on Sunday, before being shot and killed himself in an exchange of gunfire with police.

Authorities identified 55-year-old Clarence D. Briggs of Newville as the man who attempted the armed holdup at a tollbooth in Fort Littleton, off I-76, at around 7 a.m.

Briggs is reportedly a former state trooper who also previously worked for the turnpike organization in an as yet unclarified capacity.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan choked back tears as he identified the victims of Sunday's shootings as 55-year old Danny Crouse and 72-year-old Ronald Heist.

Logan said Crouse had only been on the job for three months, while Heist, a retired York City Police officer, had worked for the turnpike commission as a security contractor.

"Today we lost two members of the turnpike family and extended family in a hold-up attempt," Logan explained in a press conference held Sunday afternoon, just miles down the road.

In a synopsis of the incident provided by state police captain Dave Cain, it was reported that Briggs arrived at the toll located at the Fort Littleton Interchange and presented a weapon.

Briggs reportedly forced two workers, one of them Crouse, into a nearby building where a struggle ensued as he attempted to tie them up.

Briggs then exited the building, captain Cain said, and encountered Crouse and Heist in a fare collection vehicle that pulled up outside, shooting both men dead.

This prompted the vehicle's unnamed driver to flee on foot and Briggs to commandeer it. He reportedly drove a short distance to his own waiting vehicle, where he began unloading an undisclosed amount of money from the fare collection vehicle to his.

Within moments, Cain explained, responding officers encountered Briggs and an exchange of gunfire erupted. It was not clear how many shots were fired, but Briggs was killed in the encounter.

The investigation is reportedly ongoing, and it was not immediately clear what might have prompted a former law enforcement officer to go to such extremes.

Police remained at the scene even hours later, Some there from as far away as Westmoreland County, nearly two hours to the west.

The exit and entranceways to the toll also remained closed Sunday and were expected to reopen by Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Logan, speaking on behalf of the governor and state officials, vowed to expend all resources necessary to find out "exactly what happened," adding "We are all deeply saddened by this horrific tragedy."

That tragedy unfolded in what some might consider the unlikeliest of settings: A rural and remote outpost on the turnpike as it stretches across Pennsylvania's barren southern tier.

The tollbooth, where Sunday's shootings occurred, is surrounded by dense woods and few immediate signs of life.

One exception is the New Fort Family Restaurant, located just steps away.

Owner J. Mellott said he usually arrives to do prep work at 7 a.m. or just as the shootings occurred. This Sunday, he said, he was "luckily" running late.

By that afternoon, his restaurant had been taken over by police and converted into something of a mobile command post. Mellott offered the authorities coffee and a "place to do their paperwork," he said, while the restaurant and entire vicinity remained closed to the public.

Outside, a still-active crime buzzed with activity.

Evidence markers littered the ground and at least one stretcher was visible. Also visible was a forensic tent, the same typically used to shield bodies at the scenes of homicide investigations.

Officers and PennDOT workers on scene said little, but seemed shaken by something so inexplicable that also hit so close to home.

In the press conference, Cain said the state police extended their "deepest condolences to the victims and their families in reference to this tragic incident."

Tollbooth workers at several turnpike locations declined to comment citing restrictions handed down to them by higher-ups.

A teamsters union representing the workers also declined comment when reached by PennLive.