An Indian-origin motel owner in Pittsburgh was shot dead at point-blank range on Friday afternoon after stepping outside to check on a disturbance, according to a criminal complaint published in local media. Police identified the victim as Rakesh Ehagaban, 51, who managed the Pittsburgh Motel in Robinson Township. Pittsburgh is a city in the southwestern part of the state of Pennsylvania, US.

Police said the motel manager was shot in the head by Stanley Eugene West, 37, after he approached him while attempting to intervene in an alleged dispute and asked, “Are you alright, bud?” The exchange was captured on the motel’s surveillance cameras, police said.

The shooting occurred just weeks after a 50-year-old Indian man, Chandramouli Nagamallaiah, was beheaded in front of his wife and son at a Dallas motel, after a dispute over a broken washing machine.

MOTEL MANAGER KILLED TRYING TO INTERVENE IN DISPUTE

Police said the accused had been staying at the Pittsburgh Motel for about two weeks with the woman and a child. He also has an address listed on Page Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The shooting occurred shortly after the gunman allegedly shot a woman described as his companion in the motel’s parking lot.

According to investigators, the woman was sitting in her black sedan with a child inside when the attacker approached and opened fire, hitting her in the neck.

The injured woman managed to drive to the Dick Kernick Tire & Auto Service Center, about 1 pm (local time), where police found her. She was addmitted to a hospital in critical condition. The child, who had been in the back seat, was not injured, officers said.

The shooting drew Ehagaban outside the motel, where he was confronted by the gunman. “As (West) gets within feet of Ehagaban, he raises his firearm and shoots him in the head,” the complaint stated as quoted by local media. Ehagaban died at the scene.

The gunman, who was a guest at the motel, now faces charges of criminal homicide, attempted homicide, and recklessly endangering another person, police said.

After killing the motel owner, West “nonchalantly walked to a U-Haul van parked nearby and drove away,” according to the complaint.

POLICE OFFICER SHOT DURING MANHUNT

Following the motel shooting, police tracked the attacker to the East Hills neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, where he allegedly exchanged gunfire with officers. A Pittsburgh detective was also shot during the encounter and taken to a local hospital.

Stanley Eugene West was also shot by police and taken to a hospital.

According to the arrest papers, the attacker’s actions were deliberate and unprovoked. Police have not identified a motive for the shooting.

Authorities are reviewing footage from several surveillance cameras to trace West’s movements before and after the incident.

– Ends