State police release new details in shooting of officers
Joanne Craig of Canonsburg places a flag at the memorial for Scott Leslie Bashioum. Bashioum, a Canonsburg police officer, was killed Thursday while answering a domestic call in Canonsburg.
Flowers, signs and balloons fill a space in front of Canonsburg Municipal building Friday for a memorial for Scott Leslie Bashioum.
State police said the man who shot at Canonsburg officers, killing one and seriously injuring the other as they responded to a domestic call at his wife’s home early Thursday, also fired at his vehicle parked across the street, which contained acetylene and propane tanks.
Michael Cwiklinski, 47, of Canonsburg, shot at Officers Scott Bashioum and James Saieva outside the home at 120 Woodcrest Drive. Canonsburg police Sgt. Don Cross, a shift supervisor, was able to pull his cruiser in to shield the officers and pull them out. Cecil Township police Sgt. John Holt and Peters Township Officer Matthew Collins put Bashioum in their cruiser, taking him to Canonsburg Hospital. The 52-year-old Bashioum, a seven-year veteran of the department, was pronounced dead about an hour after the 3:15 a.m. shooting. Saieva was flown to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he underwent surgery. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in fair condition Friday.
Cwiklinski reportedly killed his estranged wife, 28-year-old Dalia Elhefny Sabae, and then turned the gun on himself, police said.
Cwiklinski’s car also had jugs filled with what appeared to be an accelerant, and there was reportedly a lit lantern inside the vehicle, said a source close to the investigation. The device was not considered to be overly sophisticated, the source added.
Neighbors in the area reported hearing rapid gunfire. The house was cleared using a robot provided by Allegheny County Bomb Squad. The robot entered the house and went up the steps, where it located two bodies later identified as Sabae and Cwiklinski.
Sabae was from Egypt, police said. She and Cwiklinski reportedly met on a dating website, and he brought her to the United States, the source added. The two obtained a marriage license in Washington County in May 2015, and the source said she was pregnant when she was killed.
An electronic sign outside Jeffreys Drugstore on North Central Avenue in Canonsburg, where Sabae worked, asks for the community’s prayers.
Sabae was a great person and valued team member, said Jeff Hetrick, a partner at the store.
“And we want her remembered that way,” he added.
The incident Thursday was referred to in a written statement released by store management as a tragedy for all involved, including the community and police.
“Words cannot express how deeply saddened we are in learning about the tragic loss of our cherished employee, co-worker and friend, Dalia Sabae,” it states. “She was an immensely valued and beloved member of our family here at Jeffreys Drugstore, and she will be missed.
“We are still in the midst of dealing with shocking news, and at this difficult time we respectfully ask that our privacy be honored so that we can grieve and celebrate her life appropriately,” the statement continued.
Store management also extended sympathy to Bashioum’s family, friends and colleagues and offered support to Saieva and his family. They expressed sympathy to Sabae’s family, friends and the customers who had come to know her during her time at the store.
Not only is the front of a monument outside the borough building overflowing with flowers, flags, balloons, stuffed animals and other tributes left by the community after the shooting, residents and business owners have shown support by lighting blue lights or tying blue ribbons at their properties.
Chartiers Township police said residents of a home on Hickory Ridge Road have their house lit up in blue. Residents of The Summit housing plan also put up blue lights. Neighbors of Bashioum, who lived in the township, tied blue ribbons on the road leading to his house.
Funeral arrangements for Bashioum are incomplete. Tentative plans call for the viewing to be Monday and Tuesday at a site yet to be determined. The funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at Church of the Covenant on East Beau Street, Washington.
An account was established at Washington Financial by the Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation titled Officer Scott Bashioum Children Memorial Fund. For more information, visit the foundation’s website at www.wppbf.org.