Police say shooter at Blawnox business killed mother of his children, wounded new boyfriend

A man allegedly killed his ex-partner and wounded her new boyfriend at a workplace shooting early Tuesday in Blawnox, according to Allegheny County Police.

Sean Black, 42, is accused of gunning down 30-year-old Courtney Smith inside TriArc Manufacturing on Fountain Street where both worked. Ms. Smith, the mother of Mr. Black’s three children, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police from Blawnox and O’Hara responded just before 6:30 a.m. to 911 calls reporting an active shooter inside the warehouse, about two blocks off Freeport Road. Employees were still streaming out when police arrived, and they indicated the shooter was still in the building.

The first officers inside found a man later identified as Mr. Black kneeling over Ms. Smith with two guns lying nearby, according to the criminal complaint against Mr. Black. He was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Ms. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. A 26-yearold coworker, who police identified as Ms. Smith’s new partner, was shot multiple times. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition.

Vic Joseph, assistant superintendent for Allegheny County Police, said many employees were working in the warehouse when the shooting started.

“We are lucky there weren’t more injuries or more deaths,” he said.

A supervisor at Tri-Arc told investigators that Mr. Black and Ms. Smith had worked at the manufacturing company for several years, according to the complaint. The supervisor said the two had three young children together and had recently broken up.

According to the complaint, the supervisor walked out of an office and saw the former couple wrestling. The supervisor heard Ms. Black yell, “Sean, no, no,” at which point Mr. Black allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Ms. Smith four or five times in the chest. Mr. Black then fired two or three shots at the 26year-old man, the supervisor told police.

The supervisor took cover but then went out to the shooting scene, where Mr. Black pointed his gun at the supervisor but didn’t pull the trigger, according to the complaint.

Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Tri-Arc, said the company is cooperating with police.

“The plant will be closed until further notice,” he said. “We’ll have further details when it is appropriate.”

Assistant Superintendent Joseph said the scene was still active when the first two officers arrived.

“Officers train for this every day and, by all accounts, these officers relied on their training,” he said. “They went to the gunfire. They didn’t hesitate.”

Blawnox police Chief Patrick Goodman said his officers were doing well, all things considered.

“This is definitely not common for this area,” he said.