In the early morning hours of October 18, 2025, a fatal encounter unfolded in Jackson Township, a community near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, culminating in the death of 55-year-old Robert E. Hagen Jr. Hagen, a resident of Jackson Township and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was shot while seated in his pickup truck parked in the driveway of a home on Heritage Lane.
He was accompanied by a woman who was known to both him and the alleged shooter.
The tranquility of the neighborhood was shattered around 3:45 a.m. when Dylan Lang, 24, allegedly emerged from his residence armed with a handgun. Authorities report that Lang approached Hagen's truck, smashed the rear driver's side window, and fired at Hagen, striking him in the upper torso. Following the shooting, it was Lang himself who dialed 911 to report the incident and remained at the scene until law enforcement arrived.
Upon their arrival, officers from the Jackson Township Police Department, assisted by neighboring departments and the Pennsylvania State Police, found Hagen deceased in his vehicle. Lang was taken into custody without incident. Investigators recovered a 9mm handgun from the residence and found two 9mm shell casings in the driveway.
Dylan Lang has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person. He was arraigned and subsequently lodged in the Cambria County Prison without bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for late October 2025. Robert Hagen, known as 'JR' to friends and family, was remembered as a man who enjoyed woodworking, working on cars, hunting, and fishing, and most of all, spending time with his family. He was survived by his wife of 32 years, three children, and a grandson.
