Officer killed in ambush
CANONSBURG — A gunman with a history of domestic abuse fatally shot a police officer and wounded another on Thursday before he and a woman were found dead following a fight at their apartment, authorities said.
Officer Scott Bashioum and the other officer were responding separately to an emergency call from neighbors at around 3:15 a.m. when they were “ambushed upon their arrival” and immediately shot, state police Trooper Melinda Bondarenka said. The officers had arrived almost simultaneously.
Bashioum, a father of four, died less than an hour later at a hospital, a coroner said. The 52-year-old had been on the police force for seven years.
The wounded officer, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in Pittsburgh in stable condition after surgery.
The man found in the home, 47-year-old Michael Cwiklinski, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco ruled. The woman in the home, 28-year-old Dalia Elhefny Sabae, died from a gunshot wound inflicted by Cwiklinski, Warco said.
Defense attorney David Wolf identified Sabae as Cwiklinski’s girlfriend, though she listed herself as “married” on her Facebook page.
Wolf said he had known the couple since November 2015, when Cwiklinski was charged with simple assault and harassment for swinging a bag of merchandise and hitting Sabae in the eye. The case was resolved with the assault charge being dropped and Cwiklinski pleading guilty to harassment. He was sentenced to anger management classes and required to have a mental health evaluation, Wolf said.
