Quiet neighborhood rocked by homicide, police-involved shooting
A 33-year-old man was fatally shot by Connellsville Police Tuesday after firing a round at officers who discovered a woman’s body in the basement, according to state police.
State police in Washington, who are investigating the officer-involved shooting, identified the deceased man as Luke Stash of Connellsville. The woman was identified as 45-year-old Angela Faidley of Connellsville.
City police were called to 2126 Second St. in South Connellsville around 4:40 p.m. to conduct a welfare check on the woman.
Stash let them inside the home, and police found the woman dead, state police said. The manner of death was not disclosed.
When officers tried to take Stash into custody, a struggle ensued, according to state police.
Stash “fired a round from a pistol at officers. Officers returned fire, striking the male,” state police said in a release issued overnight.
Police have not identified which officer fired the fatal shot.
Several neighborhood children witnessed the incident. A group of children was playing outside at the time when a football game was punctuated by gunshots, neighbors said. Krystal Piper said her 14-year-old son saw the man’s body.
“He didn’t sleep last night,” she said.
Billie Jo Coffman said her 10-year-old daughter saw the man pointing the gun at police and officers ordering him to put his gun down. The girl ran away, gathering with other children at a neighbor’s house.
Coffman said her daughter seemed unfazed by what she witnessed, and the other children seemed OK. Many of them were elementary school-aged, Piper said. Other neighbors said they were outside with younger children enjoying the warm weather when the incident unfolded.
Piper said she was not upset “that the police had to do their job,” but it upset her that children witnessed the scene.
She was inside when the shooting occurred, talking to her mom on the phone. About five minutes into the call, she heard gunfire and ran outside.
“Everything was frantic,” Piper said. “I was just trying to make sense of it all.”
She said she saw two police cars outside at the time of the shooting.
“They poured in after pretty fast,” she said.
Piper said she did not know the people involved, but her neighbors never drew suspicions. She never heard anything at the house before the gunshots, she said.
“It was super quiet, always kept to themselves,” she said. “That’s why everyone was shook, I think, because they were silent.”
Coffman said she knew Stash in passing, and described him as “odd.”
“He seemed like a nice guy. He had his issues, though,” she said.
Police did not specify the relationship between Stash and Faidley, or whether there were any prior incidents at the address. Court documents show Stash had filed an appeal to the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Feb. 11 after he was denied a license to carry a concealed firearm. His hearing was scheduled for March 31.
Several other neighbors declined comment, saying they were unnerved by the shooting. They said the neighborhood was always a quiet place to live, and parents felt safe letting their kids play outside.
“I grew up in this neighborhood, and I never saw anything like that happen,” Coffman said.
Neighbors said there were more cars driving down the street Wednesday than they had ever seen before.
On Wednesday, Connellsville Mayor Greg Lincoln declined comment, referring questions about the shooting to state police. The Connellsville Police Department and Fayette County Coroner’s Office also declined comment and referred questions to state police.