A motel manager from India who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed on Friday when he went outside to check on a heated argument in the parking lot of a Robinson Township motel. Rakesh Ehagaban, 50, was shot in the head at close range and died right away.
Stanley Eugene West, 37, has been named as the suspect. He is now facing several accusations, including criminal homicide, attempted homicide, and putting someone else’s life in danger without thinking.
The Moments Before the Deadly Shooting
Allegheny County Superintendent Christopher Kearns said that the horrific chain of events started when West shot a woman he was arguing with outside the motel. Ehagaban, the manager of the motel, is said to have gone outside to see what was going on and make sure everyone was safe.
Police said that as Ehagaban got close to West, he calmly said, “Are you okay, bud?”
West walked up to the manager on camera, and when he was only a foot away from Ehagaban, he raised his gun and shot him in the head, killing him right away. The lawsuit says that after the incident, the suspect “casually walks to the U-Haul and drives away.”
The police said that West had been living at the motel with the woman and a child for almost two weeks.
The attack on the woman and the police’s response
West’s attack on his female friend set off the event. West walked up to the driver’s side door of the woman’s black automobile, which had a child in the back seat, and started fire. The window broke and she was seriously hurt. She was hurt, but she was able to drive the car to the Dick Kernick Tire & Auto Service Centre nearby at 1 p.m. local time, where police found her. She was taken to the hospital right after and is still in critical condition. The good news is that the child in the back seat was not hurt.
West’s attempt to get away didn’t last long. As police followed and got closer to his car, they said the gunman opened fire and hit a Pittsburgh detective in the leg. Media said that officers quickly returned fire, hitting West several times.
Martin Devine, the Acting Chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, said in a statement that the detective was doing well: “The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police detective who was shot during the critical event in East Hills on Friday is now sleeping well at home with his family… The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police thanks the doctors and nurses at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for their amazing treatment and all of our local law enforcement partners who work so hard to keep Allegheny County safe in the fight against violent crime.