Hundreds attend emotional vigil for slain officer

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
Hundreds of people who were gathered at Renziehausen Park for a candlelight vigil erupted with cheers and applause Wednesday night when a man called out that police Officer Chuck Thomas was in the crowd.
Onlookers holding lit candles could be seen with tears streaming down their cheeks as Thomas — wearing a sling on his arm and a McKeesport Police jacket draped over his shoulders — made his way under the Blue Top Pavilion and to the front of the crowd to embrace his boss, a visibly-emotional McKeesport police Chief Adam Alfer.
Thomas’ appearance at the vigil comes just two days after he was shot in the line of duty Monday in the city’s Grandview neighborhood.
Officer-Patrolman Sean “Slug” Sluganski, 32, was also fatally shot during the incident, which unfolded in the area near St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Johnathan Jermia Morris, 31, of Wilson Avenue, McKeesport, has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal attempt to murder a law enforcement officer and several other charges by Allegheny County police in connection with the shootings of Sluganski and Thomas. Morris was shot in the leg during the incident and was recovering in an area hospital. His preliminary hearing hadn’t been scheduled as of press time.

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