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Indian-origin motel owner shot dead in Pittsburgh
Rakesh Ehagaban, 51, was killed outside his motel after intervening in a shooting incident.
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Staff Reporter - Mon, 06, Oct 2025
- 14:29 EDT
- 25
Representative Image / Unsplash
An Indian-origin motel manager was shot dead at point-blank range in Pittsburgh, after stepping outside to check on a disturbance at his property last week.
Police identified the victim as Rakesh Ehagaban, 51, who managed the Pittsburgh Motel in Robinson Township.
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According to surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed Ehagaban stepping outside after hearing commotion and speaking to the suspect before being shot in the head. The gunman, identified as Stanley Eugene West, 37, was staying at the motel. Ehagaban died at the scene.
Authorities said the incident began when West shot a woman who had been living at the motel with a child for the past two weeks.
The woman, who was inside her vehicle attempting to leave, was struck in the neck by a bullet, while the child in the back seat was unharmed.
The shooting outside the motel prompted Ehagaban to intervene, after which he was fatally shot. Police recovered a 9mm Blazer Luger handgun near his body.
Investigators used licence plate readers to trace the U-Haul van West had used to flee. Detectives located the vehicle in the East Hills neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, where West reportedly opened fire on police officers.
Allegheny County Police said the officers returned fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire in which both West and a detective were injured.
West was taken to hospital in critical condition. He has been charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, and recklessly endangering another person, police said.
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