Background: Law enforcement officers investigate a shooting at Oaks Auto & Truck Service in Springdale Township, Pennsylvania (WPXI/YouTube). Inset: Niko Hostler (Instagram).
An employee at a Pennsylvania towing company stands accused of fatally shooting his manager after being asked to handle a late call just as his shift was ending.
According to court documents examined by Law&Crime, 32-year-old Niko Hostler faces charges of criminal homicide. The victim has been identified by local NBC affiliate WPXI as 53-year-old Christopher Ashbaugh.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday at Oaks Auto & Truck Service located in Springdale Township, Pennsylvania. Hostler, nearing the end of his shift and eager to head home, was assigned another call by his manager, Ashbaugh, according to a criminal complaint viewed by the television station.
Reportedly, this request led to a heated exchange between the two men.
Authorities state that Hostler claimed Ashbaugh struck him in the face, shoved him, and attempted to hit him again. In what Hostler described as a moment of fear for his life, uncertain if his manager was armed, he drew a gun and shot Ashbaugh.
Ashbaugh was later transported to a nearby hospital, where he was declared deceased.
A woman who lives nearby said she witnessed nearly the entire fight between the co-workers.
“I heard them not talk, so I thought maybe they resolved it, then I heard them again, arguing, yelling, and then I heard ‘pop pop pop pop’ like five times,” Amanda Mattern told Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA. “I heard the guy that he shot lying on the ground, ‘Help me, help me.’”
Hostler was arrested, and he is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail. He had a preliminary arraignment in court on Thursday and is due to return for a preliminary hearing on June 3.
