Background: Law enforcement officers investigate a shooting at Oaks Auto & Truck Service in Springdale Township, Pennsylvania (WPXI/YouTube). Inset: Niko Hostler (Instagram).
A Pennsylvania tow truck employee is accused of shooting his manager dead because the man in charge asked him to go out on a call toward the end of his shift.
Niko Hostler, 32, has been charged with criminal homicide, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. The victim was identified by area NBC affiliate WPXI as 53-year-old Christopher Ashbaugh.
On Wednesday, the two workers were at Oaks Auto & Truck Service in Springdale Township, Pennsylvania, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the TV station. Hostler's shift was wrapping up, and he wanted to go home soon, but Ashbaugh sent him out on a call.
The defendant was apparently frustrated, and a fight broke out between the two men.
According to authorities, Hostler said Ashbaugh punched him in the face, pushed him, and then took another swing. The defendant claimed he was "in fear for his life" — not knowing whether his manager had a weapon — so he pulled out a gun and fired it.
Ashbaugh was reportedly brought to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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.