New footage shows people rallying together to help a state trooper who was shot in Beaver County

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. — A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot while responding to a call for a man terrorizing people with a gun at a convenience store in Beaver County early Friday.

Court documents said that troopers Jonnie Schooley and Shawn Palmer were patrolling the neighborhood when they got a disturbance call at the Franklin Mini-Mart on Franklin Avenue in Aliquippa shortly after midnight.

Upon entering the store, the troopers encountered a man with a gun. State police allege 41-year-old Damian Bradford of Pittsburgh then fired a shot and hit Schooley in the leg.

Good Samaritans, including Matthew Weekley, were seen on cell phone video trying to stop the trooper’s leg from bleeding by using T-shirts, some off their own backs, as tourniquets. Weekley tells Channel 11 nobody has ever turned their back on him so he did the right thing and helped. He said it all happened so fast.

“I took my T-shirt off, the other guy took his T-shirt off,” Weekley said. “We did the tourniquets and out the store they brought out they brought a whole case of T-shirts – brand new T-shirts – just to make sure he had everything he needed.”

Trooper Schooley was treated at the scene and then flown to a Pittsburgh hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Trooper Palmer, with the assistance of store customers, was able to take Bradford into custody.

Police said Bradford attempted to remove Palmer’s Taser and gun from his belt as the trooper was trying to place him under arrest.

Bradford also suffered minor injuries, according to state police, and was taken to a hospital under trooper supervision.

“I want to thank all the patrons that were there to assist my two troopers on the scene that assisted rendering immediate first aid to my injured trooper and also assisted my other trooper taking the suspect into custody,” said Beaver station commander Sgt. Jesse Burrello.

Aliquippa Police Chief Jon Lane confirmed to Channel 11 that Bradford is the same man who pleaded guilty to killing Dr. Gulam Moonda on the Ohio Turnpike back in 2005 while being involved in an affair with Moonda’s wife. He took a plea deal and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The chief said he was released from prison in 2021. Under his plea deal, Bradford should still be under supervised release and is not allowed to have a gun.

Schooley’s colleagues tell us he’s expected to make a full recovery.

Bradford faces multiple charges including criminal attempted homicide and several charges of aggravated assault.

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