Feb 25, 2021 2 min read

The co-owner of Anna Lee’s Convenience Store in Donora was shot and killed while working at the business Wednesday night.

Nicholas Tarpley, 28, of Donora, died following the shooting inside the convenience store at 501 Allen Ave., according to Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco.

Tarpley was shot shortly after 5 p.m. while working at the store and was pronounced dead less than two hours later.

Donora police initiated the investigation and were assisted by multiple police departments immediately after the shooting. Trooper Robert Broadwater said Donora police later asked state troopers to lead the inquiry.

Broadwater said no suspects were in custody and he did not know if investigators had any information on the shooter.

It was not known if Wednesday night’s killing was connected to a fatal shooting in Washington last month and a subsequent shooting in Donora hours later.

Darnell Brown, 41, of Washington, was shot and killed in the parking lot outside of a discount store on Highland Avenue in Washington on Jan. 26. Shortly later, Keilone Preston was shot in the leg and foot inside a Heslep Avenue home in Donora.

The suspected shooter in both cases, Zackory James Sadler, 36, of Donora, was found unresponsive Feb. 18 inside a home in Wheeling, W.Va., and later died at a local hospital. His cause of death was not immediately known, although investigators in West Virginia said they were called to the residence for a medical emergency and no trauma was found on his body.

Broadwater said police have no evidence showing that Wednesday night’s killing was connected to the two previous shootings, but that they would investigate to see if they were related.

“We’re trying to connect all those dots,” Broadwater said.