Blawnox officials honor multiple officers who responded to a deadly shooting in borough

Blawnox officials honored police officers from multiple departments for their efforts in responding to a fatal shooting in the borough.

Council unanimously adopted resolutions May 8 commending Blawnox Officer Aaron Zola, Aspinwall Officer Leann Heffler, O’Hara Officers Maria Sciacca and Craig Cress and Millvale Officers Timothy McDonough and Evan Egerter for bravery in the line of duty.

They were among the first to arrive the morning of March 19 at Tri-Arc Manufacturing Co. on Fountain Street, where a domestic dispute turned deadly.

Mayor Antony Gross summarized the resolutions.

“These officers were able to quickly locate the suspect and professionally place that individual into custody without further incident,” Gross said. “Officers were able to secure the scene and immediately begin lifesaving measures on the injured victims until paramedics arrived.

“The decisive actions of these officers undoubtedly saved the life of a victim involved in this incident and prevented any further risk to the safety of the many employees present at the incident location.”

Allegheny County Police have charged Sean Black, 43, of Allegheny Township with homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and two counts of carrying a firearm without a license.

He is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Courtney Smith, 30.

The two had been in a romantic relationship for several years and had three children together.

Police said the couple recently had separated and Smith began dating a Tri-Arc co-worker, Daniel Zoelle, 26.

Black shot Smith four or five times in the chest and then fired two or three more shots at Zoelle, police said.

Zoelle, who was shot multiple times in the torso and limbs, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty against Black.

Blawnox police Chief Patrick Goodman said he was proud of how the officers responded and referred questions about the incident to Allegheny County Police.

“It doesn’t change the tragic outcome here, but it certainly lessened its impact on the others that were there,” Goodman said of the recognition.

Council meeting attendees gave the officers a standing ovation after they received their certificates. Zola spoke on behalf of the group.

“These are my heroes right here,” he said to the other officers. “You get hit with a bunch of emotions (when responding to a shooting). All the training that we’ve all done collectively over the years, all that instinct starts to kick in because you play how you practice. Going through our formations knowing what we need to do and eliminating the threat, everything just kind of came together. That’s from all the years of training.”