In the small earliness just after 3:45 a.m. in Jackson Township, Cambria County, what should have been a quiet spring dawn instead ended in tragedy. A pickup truck parked along Heritage Lane became the site of a fatal shooting, and the victim has been identified as 55-year-old Robert E. Hagen Jr. of the community.
Coroner Jeff Lees confirmed that Hagen was discovered inside his truck with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, suffering massive blood loss by the time first responders arrived. The death has been officially ruled a homicide. Investigators arrived at the scene after police were called, and the resulting investigation is now being led by the Pennsylvania State Police in concert with the Cambria County District Attorney’s Office and local law-enforcement units.
By Saturday evening the case had taken a startling new turn: a 24-year-old resident of Jackson Township, Dylan Don Lang, was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault (a felony of the second degree), and recklessly endangering another person (a misdemeanor). Bail was denied and Lang remained in custody after an October 18 arraignment.
According to the criminal complaint, at the moment of the shooting Hagen was seated in his truck, which was parked in the driveway of Lang’s residence. Also present in the vehicle was a known adult female. Lang, armed with a handgun, allegedly exited his residence, smashed the driver’s-side back window of the truck, and then fired the fatal shot while Hagen and the woman were still inside. Lang later called 9-1-1 and remained at the scene until police arrived. A 9 mm handgun and two spent 9 mm shell casings were recovered from the driveway.
At the scene, multiple local agencies — including units from Jackson Township, Nanty Glo, Cambria Township, and the Cambria County 911 center — converged early on. Pike Road was closed between Swiggle Mountain and Channel Roads for hours as detectives combed for evidence on Heritage Lane.
Officials stress that despite the violent outcome, this appears to be an isolated incident with no threat to the general public at present. Still, detectives are asking anyone with information — no matter how minor it may seem — to reach out to the State Police in Ebensburg. Volunteers, neighbors, and local business-owners are being asked to review any surveillance footage, dash-cam imagery, or witness statements that might help fill in the timeline.
As the investigation continues toward a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 27, families and neighbors in the quiet Jackson Township community are returning to an uneasy normal. The loss of Hagen — and the sudden, violent nature of the scene — has resonated deeply in a place where such moments are rare. For now, residents await answers and hope that this one night’s tragedy remains the exception, not the beginning of something larger.
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