Indian-origin motel manager shot dead in Pittsburgh, US
Indian-origin motel manager Rakesh Ehagaban was killed in a point-blank shooting in Pittsburgh; the suspect later exchanged fire with police
An Indian origin motel manager was shot dead in the head at point-blank range on Friday (October 3) after he stepped out to hear a commotion outside the Pittsburgh Motel in Robinson.
The incident took place when the victim, Rakesh Ehagaban, 51, asked a man, identified as Stanley Eugene West, 37, wielding a gun, “Are you alright, bud?”
According to police, CCTV footage showed West walking towards Rakesh and then shooting him in the head at point-blank range. Rakesh died on the spot. “As (West) gets within feet of Ehagaban, he raised his firearm and shot him in the head,” stated the police complaint as quoted by Trib Live.
Accused shot his female companion
Police said that West had shot a female companion as she was trying to drive away from the motel on Friday afternoon. The woman was driving a sedan with a child in the backseat.
As the woman was starting to drive away from the motel, West approached the driver’s side of the car’s door and opened fire. The bullet shattered the windshield and hit the woman in her neck, critically injuring her. However, the child in the backseat was left unharmed.
Police said that the CCTV footage showed that West, after shooting the image, calmly got into a van, parked next to the woman’s car and drove away. Police also recovered a firearm from the sidewalk near Ehagaban’s body.
Also Read: Indian-origin motel manager beheaded in US; co-worker arrested
Opened fire on police
West was tracked down by the police using license plate reading cameras, and Pittsburgh police detectives found the van around 2:30 pm in Pittsburgh’s East Hills.
According to the Allegheny County Police, West got down from the van and opened fire on the police personnel who returned fire. In the ensuing gun fight, West was critically injured, and a police detective also suffered a bullet wound during the exchange of fire.
“The detectives returned fire,” Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said, adding “multiple shots were fired by multiple officers,” as quoted by Trib Live. West is undergoing treatment at a hospital in critical condition.
Also Read: Indian student from Hyderabad shot dead in US gas station
Woman in critical condition
“The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is grateful to the incredible care provided by the doctors and nurses at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and to all of our local law enforcement partners who work so hard to keep Allegheny County safe in the fight against violent crime,” acting Chief Martin Devine said in the statement.
The woman was also rushed to a hospital in critical condition. A motel resident said that the woman had been living in the motel for two weeks.