1 Officer Dead, 1 Wounded In Canonsburg Shooting
CANONSBURG (KDKA) – One officer has died and another was wounded in a Canonsburg shooting early Thursday morning.
According to police, the incident happened around 3:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Woodcrest Drive.
Police were initially called to the area for a domestic dispute. As the two Canonsburg police officers approached the home, Michael Cwiklinski opened fire.
"Upon their arrival, the two officers were ambushed. They were shot with an unknown type of firearm," Trooper Melinda Bonderanka said.
"When it first started, one was bleeding badly. The shooter had everyone pinned down when they were trying to get him. I don't know where he was shot," a firefighter said.
KDKA's Christine D'Antonio Reports:
Both officers were originally taken to Canonsburg Hospital, but one was then flown to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
"It is my sad duty to announce that one officer is deceased and the other officer has been flown to a Pittsburgh hospital," Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said.
The fallen officer has been identified as Scott Leslie Bashioum, 52, of Washington. He was pronounced dead at Canonsburg Hospital shortly after 4 a.m. A police procession left the hospital around 9:45 a.m.
Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered flags across the state to be flown at half staff to honor Officer Bashioum until sunset on Monday.
Andy Sheehan's Report:
KDKA-TV has learned that the other officer is James Saieva, of Houston. He suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach and underwent surgery this morning. He was last listed in stable condition at Allegheny General Hospital.
Officer Saieva's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
As for the suspect, officials confirmed that Cwiklinski had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to police sources, Cwiklinski fatally shot Dalia Sabae inside the home and eventually turned the gun on himself.
Sabae was six months pregnant and had a Protection From Abuse order against Cwiklinski.
Sabae was an employee at Jeffreys DrugStore. They released a statement, which said in part:
"Words cannot express how deeply saddened we are today in learning about the tragic loss of our cherished employee, co-worker and friend."
The statement continued:
"We would also like to extend our heartfelt sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of the Canonsburg Police officer who lost his life this morning, and offer our support to the other officer and his family who is recovering from his injuries. We also would like to extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family, her friends and the many customers who came to know her over the time she worked with us."
After the shooting, police advised residents in the area to stay in their homes and stay away from windows.
"It woke me from bed about 3:30, 4 o'clock this morning. I could hear what I thought was firecrackers and then I heard somebody say, 'My partner's down,' or something like that. Then, all hell broke loose," a neighbor said. "I had my porch light on and he came and told us to turn the light off and stay put. Then, five minutes later, they came to the front door and asked us if we would leave ASAP."
Evacuation orders in the area have since been lifted.
The Canon-McMillan School District is closed today, due to the ongoing situation.
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