Employees at a Robinson Township motel that was the site of a fatal shooting Friday were mourning the loss of their manager Saturday.
The shooting at the Pittsburgh Motel on Steubenville Pike took the life of the motel manager, Rakesh Ehagaban, 50, of Robinson and wounded a woman, who was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition late Friday night.
Stanley West, the 38-year-old man believed to be responsible for the shooting, was subsequently wounded in a shootout with police Friday afternoon in the East Hills. He is facing criminal homicide charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Ehagaban.
A man who identified himself as the Pittsburgh Motel manager Saturday but would not provide his name confirmed the Ehagaban had been the motel manager.
The man did not want to talk about the incident.
“Everyone feels terrible,” the man said about Ehagaban’s death. “We don’t want to talk about it.
“If you have any respect for us, you’ll leave us alone.”
West was charged Friday with criminal homicide, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person and was hospitalized after he opened fire on officers who found the U-Haul van he was driving in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive.
The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. Friday when Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting at the Pittsburgh Motel, in the 4200 block of Steubenville Pike.
An adult male, later identified as Ehagaban, was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced deceased at the scene and an adult female was found nearby suffering from gunshot wounds. The woman’s shooting was believed to be the result of a domestic dispute, a county police spokesman said.
She was taken to an area hospital and was listed in critical condition Friday evening. No update on her condition was expected Saturday, according to a county police spokesman.
The county police homicide unit initiated an investigation following the 911 call and determined that the suspect – later identified as West – fled the scene in a U-Haul van and Pittsburgh police located the van and determined it to be parked but occupied in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive.
At 2:29 p.m., detectives with Pittsburgh Police and county police approached the van and a minute later, West emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, striking a city police detective in the leg.
The responding detectives returned fire, striking West multiple times. West was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition Friday night.
According to authorities, the county police officer involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by Pennsylvania State Police.
In a social media post Saturday morning, Pittsburgh police said the detective injured by gunfire was “resting comfortably at home with his family and with the full support of his fellow officers and the bureau.”
“The family asks for privacy at this time.”
Martin Devine, the acting chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, said in the same social media post that the bureau is grateful for “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.”
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