Police seek cause of shot vehicles, standoff

The shooter surrendered without a struggle; there were no injuries.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Police are still looking for answers as to what caused a 25-year-old man to shoot at vehicles then lock himself in his home for seven hours.
Antoine Cornelious of 359 N. Buhl Farm Drive emerged from his residence and surrendered without event late Friday afternoon.
For an undetermined reason, Cornelious fired a pistol outside his residence about 10:30 a.m., striking three vehicles -- a white Eckard Drug delivery car and a pickup truck -- and a van that had been parked at a nearby convenience store, said Edward Holiga, deputy chief of police.
A Pennsylvania State Police critical incident response team, including a hostage negotiator, spoke to Cornelious, who was alone in the house, through a loudspeaker, advising him that "it just wasn't going to end unless he came out," Holiga said.
Police, who couldn't reach Cornelious by phone, set off two flash-bang grenades outside the house "to get his attention," Holiga said. "He got up and came to the window, and he started looking outside, so he was aware that we were out there," Holiga said.
"Mr. Cornelious then just walked out of the house, sat down on the porch and surrendered," about 5:45 p.m., he added. There were no injuries.
Mental-health question
"Eventually, I think he just wore down and decided to come out," the deputy chief surmised. "We don't know what triggered it," Holiga said, adding, "He is not talking at all." Family members said he had some mental health problems, he added.
Police took Cornelious to Sharon Regional Health System's hospital for evaluation. He is charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.
State police were assisted by Hermitage, Sharon and Southwest Regional police. The Hermitage Street Department barricaded the street, and Hermitage firefighters and a McGonigle ambulance stood by.
During the standoff, police established a safety perimeter around the house, keeping spectators and the press away. The standoff occurred during an intermittent rain in a quiet, tree-lined residential neighborhood behind a shopping plaza, just north of the busy State Street commercial strip.
Holiga said Cornelious' mother had no idea the gun was in the house and that Cornelious' father was holding it for his brother.
Joe Simpson, who lives two houses away, said Cornelious was a Hickory High School football player. "Antoine is a very quiet person. He stayed in his front yard and didn't talk to anybody," Simpson said.
"After he got out of school, something went really wrong with him. I don't know what," Simpson said. He added, "His parents are real nice people."
milliken@vindy.com