Indian-origin motel owner shot dead by homeless trespasser in US

New York, Dec 8 (IANS) A 46-year-old Indian-origin motel owner in the US state of North Carolina died after being shot at by a homeless trespasser, who barricaded himself inside a room, before killing himself, police said.

Satyen Naik, who was allegedly killed by 59-year-old Troy Kellum, was found lying outside a room of Hostess House in Newport with a gunshot wound.

Newport Police Chief Keith Lewis said they got a call just after 10.00 a.m on Wednesday about a person trespassing on the Hostess House motel, the Fox News reported.

A "disturbance" was heard in the background of the emergency call, followed by a second call to 911 that a person had been shot at the lodging establishment, Lewis said.

Both the police department and Carteret County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

Naik was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Police said the motel was a family-owned business and Naik operated the business daily with his family.

"The suspect had barricaded himself in the room, which prompted us to alert the SRT (Special Response Team) team and request their assistance in retrieving the barricaded person from the room," Lewis said.

Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck told WCTI 12 that authorities confirmed he was barricaded in a room by "pinging" the suspect’s cellphone.

He spoke to the man through his friends and negotiators for hours, but Troy refused all police efforts to peacefully leave the room.

Kellum shot himself as members of the police department’s Special Response Team entered the room after hours of failed negotiations, the Fox News reported, citing Carteret County News-Times.

Troy was described as homeless at the time of his death, and had reportedly been squatting at the motel and other buildings in the area.

He was previously charged with obtaining property by false pretenses in 2020.

According to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction documents, he was on probation for the offence at the time of his death.