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Man who shot cops, woman had threatened to kill her

CANONSBURG (AP) — A man who fatally shot the expectant mother of his child and a police officer had threated to kill her before, according to court papers she filed last month.

Dalia Sabae, 28, filed an application for a protection-from-abuse court order in Washington County, saying that Michael Cwiklinski was drunk when he took her belongings and that he then called police when she broke down a door to retrieve them last month.

“As he was leaving, he was saying that I and our baby that I am pregnant with have to die,” she told police in the application for the court order. “He has grabbed me by my neck in an attempt to kill me.”

Cwiklinski, 47, shot two Canonsburg police officers who responded to a report that the couple was fighting early Thursday, killing one of them. The couple was later found dead, Cwiklinski of a self-inflicted wound.

Officer Scott Bashioum, 52, a seven-year veteran officer and married father of four, died at a hospital. Officer James Saieva underwent emergency surgery Thursday and was listed in stable condition Friday.

The borough of roughly 8,900 residents about 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh along Interstate 79 has been paying tribute to Bashioum, whose funeral arrangements are pending.

Hundreds gathered at the borough building Thursday evening. A military memorial already festooned with American flags for Veterans Day had also become a memorial for Bashioum, as people dropped off flowers, stuffed animals, signs and other mementos.

An electric message sign blinked with the words, “Please keep Scott Bashioum and his family in your thoughts” and “Godspeed to our injured officer.”

State police said Cwiklinski ambushed the officers, essentially waiting for them to arrive and opening fire even immediately.

The fact that Cwiklinski “laid in wait and fire upon the officers as they arrived speaks for itself,” state police Capt. David Heckman said.

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