Bardoli man who owns motel in US shot dead, second incident in a month

A native of Rayam village in Bardoli taluka of Surat district was killed in a shooting incident in Robinson Township, Allegheny County of Pennsylvania, USA, on Friday. The victim, Rakesh Patel (50), originally from India and working as a motel manager, died tragically.

According to the Allegheny County Police in Pennsylvania, the accused, Stanley Eugene West (37), opened fire in the motel’s parking lot during an argument with his female companion. 

Hearing the gunshots, motel manager Rakesh Dhirubhai Patel stepped outside to see what was happening. However, the suspect also shot Patel, leading to his death. Meanwhile, the injured woman managed to escape from the scene.

Moreover, reports say that after shooting the motel owner, the gunman 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.

After shooting Patel, the suspect fled in a U-Haul van. Police later located him on Wilner Drive in East Hills. When officers approached the van, the accused came out and opened fire on them. 

In the encounter, a Pittsburgh police officer sustained a leg injury from a bullet, while the suspect, Stanley West, was also shot and is in critical condition in the hospital.

The police have charged Stanley West with murder, attempted murder, and reckless endangerment of others.

Notably, a 26-year-old Indian student was brutally murdered by robbers in Dallas last week.

Moreover, in September, an Indian-origin motel worker in the US, Chandramouli Nagamallaiah (50), was beheaded in front of his wife and son at a motel in Texas following a dispute over a broken washing machine.