Pittsburgh police officer shot after confronting suspect in killing of Robinson motel manager; suspect and slain man ID'd

A Pittsburgh police detective was shot Friday afternoon in the city’s East Hills section during an exchange of gunfire with a homicide suspect.

The suspect was fleeing from a shooting scene in Robinson, where police say he killed a motel manager about 90 minutes before a confrontation with Pittsburgh police.

Allegheny County Police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Stanley West. He is charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person. No address was listed for West in the online court docket sheets.

Police said West remains hospitalized as of late Friday. He was originally listed in critical condition.

Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the shooting victim as Rakesh Bhagavan, 50, of Robinson. Some knew him as “Rocky.”

Cause and manner of of his death were not listed in the examiner’s report released Friday evening.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, who heads City Council’s public safety committee, said the detective’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“The officer is going to be fine,” Coghill said after being briefed by Pittsburgh’s public safety director.

Police at the East Hills scene in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive said the officer was struck in the leg and taken to the hospital.

The officer has not been publicly identified.

The incident began at 1:04 p.m. in Robinson, when police responded to report of a shooting at the Pittsburgh Motel in the 4200 block of Steubenville Pike.

Police then received a call for another shooting victim in the 4400 block of Steubenville Pike at a business, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns told reporters during a briefing at the East Hills shooting scene.

Investigators learned a man shot his “female companion” during a dispute in the motel parking lot, and she escaped.

Bhagavan, a manager of the motel, stepped outside when he heard some commotion and was fatally shot, Kearns said.

Here’s what reporters now know about the shooting @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/bRpoM3J1Ux

— Megan Swift (@mgswift7) October 3, 2025

Daniel Bincoski, a long-term resident of the motel, which is near the Sapporo Japanese Steakhouse, said he witnessed the shooting of Bhagavan.

Bincoski said he heard two to three shots and ran out to his second-story balcony.

He told TribLive he saw Bhagavan approach a man in the parking lot. Bhagavan had his hands up in a questioning manner, and the man shot him in the head, Bincoski said.

The suspect, later identified as West, drove off in what police called a U-Haul van.

Several motel occupants ran to help Bhagavan, with one holding a towel to his head, Bincoski said.

Bincoski told TribLive he recognized the shooter as someone who had been staying in the motel for about two weeks with a woman and a baby.

Other motel residents told Bincoski that before Bhagavan was shot, the assailant shot at the woman, who was in a car, and struck her in the neck.

The woman escaped, according to Bincoski.

Police responding to the Robinson scene put out a bulletin for a U-Haul van.

About an hour later, at 2:29 p.m., a team of Pittsburgh police detectives spotted the van in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive. The officers were in an unmarked vehicle, Kearns said.

Joined by an Allegheny County homicide detective, the city detectives approached the van and a man got out firing a gun, Kearns said.

“The detectives returned fire,” Kearns said. “Multiple shots were fired by multiple officers.”

Here’s the question and answer portion of the press conference at the site of the Pittsburgh police officer shooting @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/5WEQXIYKuP

— Megan Swift (@mgswift7) October 3, 2025

At least a dozen police cars were still at the East Hills scene at 4:45 p.m., and police vehicles were also parked outside the Robinson motel. A dark pickup with its driver and passenger doors open was parked behind the U-Haul van.

Two unmarked police vehicles blocked the U-Haul in on either side.

County police have asked Pennsylvania State Police to investigate the East Hills shooting.

County officials said the officer involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave pending the investigation as per department policy.

Staff writers Megan Trotter, Paula Reed Ward and Megan Swift contributed.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Rakesh Bhagavan’s last name.