PITTSBURGH _ A Canonsburg police officer was shot to death and another wounded early Thursday when they were attacked while responding to a domestic dispute in what authorities characterized as an ambush.
About six hours later, after mobilizing multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams, police entered the duplex on Woodcrest Drive and found a man and a woman dead inside the house.
Washington County Coroner S. Timothy Warco identified the dead man as Michael Cwiklinski and said he killed himself. Authorities have not identified the woman.
"We are confident there is no ongoing threat to the public," Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Melinda Bonderanka said at a news conference at the Canonsburg municipal building.
A man who answered the door at the home listed for Cwiklinski's parents said the family did not wish to speak except to say that they are "very sorry for the police officers."
Bonderanka said the officers in the 17-member Canonsburg Police Department responded to a call for a domestic disturbance at 3:13 a.m. and were "ambushed upon their arrival." The call came from the occupant of the adjoining residence.
The officers _ Scott Leslie Bashioum, who was killed, and an unidentified officer who underwent surgery and is in stable condition at Allegheny General Hospital _ arrived on Woodcrest around the same time in separate vehicles. They got there within about six minutes of the 911 call. It was not clear whether either got out of his police car or fired his service weapon.
"They were immediately fired upon," Bonderanka said.
The trooper would not say whether authorities believe the woman found in the house was dead at the time officers arrived.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday issued the following statement:
"On behalf of (my wife) Frances, myself, and all Pennsylvanians, I offer my deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of deceased Canonsburg Police Officer Scott Bashioum and the female victim of the shooting, and wish a full and quick recovery to the second officer recovering from injuries. These officers put their lives on the line to protect their neighbors and one of them made the ultimate sacrifice. For that, we will always be grateful. I also want to thank the local law enforcement and the Pennsylvania State Police for their swift response and work to keep others safe."
State Police Capt. David Heckman said law enforcement was continuing to process the crime scene.
"We are still putting a lot of this together," Heckman said. He added that police were almost certain they had identified the dead woman but would not confirm her name until authorities were absolutely certain.
He also said that concerns that the apartment might be booby-trapped prompted law enforcement to request aid from the Allegheny County Police bomb squad, which was on scene. It was unclear if the bomb squad found anything.
Canonsburg Police Chief Alexander Coghill said the suspected shooter was known to his department.
"This is one of those things you hope you never hear," Coghill said.
His sentiments were echoed by Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome.
"You receive a phone call like this, your stomach just turns upside down," the mayor said.
Asked what message he would give to Bashioum's children, Rhome said, "We will be here for you."
Officials remember Bashioum, 52, as a well-liked family man who had served with the U.S. Air Force. He had been with the Canonsburg department for about seven years; the wounded officer was a 15-year veteran.
"He was good at everything ... a loving husband, a loving father," Coghill said. Bashioum, he said, had recently come back from a fishing trip with other officers.
District Judge Jay Weller said he just saw Bahsioum last week and recalled him as positive, upbeat and polite.
"I used to call him Cliff Clavin. He was one of those guys with all this minutiae of information," District Judge Weller said, referring to the trivia-filled mailman character on the TV show "Cheers."
"He was kind of our go-to guy when it came to trucks. He would do a lot of truck enforcement for us," Weller said, noting that Bahsioum would mentor officers from other departments on truck enforcement.
Lisa Stout-Bashioum, the daughter of J. Barry Stout, the late state senator from Washington County, said Bashioum was her husband's cousin.
"I just want to extend my sincere sympathy and prayers to Scott's family," Stout-Bashioum said Thursday morning.
Keith Jacob said he lives two doors down from where the shooting took place and heard gunshots Thursday morning.
"That's what woke me up. Then I thought I heard someone say 'My partner's down,'" he said.
He said the couple who live at the house where the shooting occurred have had past domestic problems.
"She has had a (protection from abuse order) against him ... there have been back and forth disputes going on," said Jacob, who also said the woman was pregnant.
