Salim Basalat, 36, was wounded outside a Hermitage store and died the next morning.
HERMITAGE, Pa. — Salim Basalat was standing near his vehicle outside a Lowe’s in Hermitage when police said a woman tied to his partner’s past relationship arrived and opened fire.
Basalat, 36, died May 26 after being shot in the arm and abdomen in the store parking lot on Glimcher Boulevard. The woman accused in the shooting, 32-year-old Taneesha Lynn Teague, now faces a first-degree murder charge and related counts. The case has drawn local attention because police said the shooting happened as Basalat spoke with Teague’s former girlfriend and the woman’s child, turning a private conflict into a public homicide investigation.
Investigators said Basalat had gone to the Lowe’s lot to meet Teague’s former girlfriend, who had recently ended a relationship with Teague. The women had broken up about a month earlier but still lived together, according to reports citing the criminal complaint. Teague is accused of following the woman and her daughter to the store, where Basalat was outside his vehicle. When Teague arrived, police said, she saw the three together. The complaint said Teague was upset by the meeting, got out with a loaded handgun and walked toward them before firing. Emergency dispatchers later reported hearing a woman’s voice in the background of a 911 call warning someone to move away or “she would die too.”
Emergency responders found Basalat wounded after the shots were fired. He was taken from the Mercer County shopping center to a hospital, where he survived through the night before being pronounced dead around 10 a.m. May 26. Police have not publicly released a full medical account of his injuries, beyond reports that he was hit in the arm and abdomen. The criminal complaint described the child at the scene as 9 years old, while one local station reported the child was 8. Authorities have not publicly clarified that discrepancy, and available reports do not state whether the girl or her mother was physically hurt.
Basalat’s death changed the legal posture of the case within hours. Teague initially was linked to an attempted homicide investigation after the shooting, but once Basalat died, the criminal complaint and warrant were amended to include first-degree murder. Police also listed criminal homicide, aggravated assault and three counts of recklessly endangering another person. Those additional charges reflect the broader danger alleged in the complaint, which placed multiple people near the gunfire in an open parking lot. The first-degree murder count signals that prosecutors allege an intentional killing, a claim that must be tested in court.
The accused woman was not taken into custody at the scene. Hermitage police issued a public alert after the shooting and said they were looking for Teague and a white Nissan work van believed to have been driven by her. The alert described her as armed and dangerous and included Pennsylvania license plate ZYB-3944. Officers later found the van near a KFC, but Teague was gone. The search continued into the next day, with police asking people to call 911 if they saw her. Teague turned herself in at the Hermitage Police Department just before 1 p.m. May 26.
The shooting took place in a commercial corridor that draws steady traffic from shoppers, workers and restaurant customers. The Lowe’s parking lot on Glimcher Boulevard is part of a retail area, not a remote location, which gave investigators several possible sources of evidence. Police could review store cameras, nearby business footage, vehicle locations and witness statements to build a timeline. Available reports say multiple people at the scene identified Teague as a suspect. Officials have not publicly said whether the handgun was recovered, whether Teague made a statement to detectives or whether any surveillance video will be used in court.
The relationship history is expected to be a major part of the prosecution’s case. The complaint says Teague and her former girlfriend still shared a residence after their breakup. That detail may help prosecutors explain why Teague allegedly knew where the woman was going and why she reacted to seeing Basalat with her. Still, investigators have not released every part of the case narrative. It remains unknown what communication, if any, happened before Teague drove to the store, whether the meeting had been arranged in advance between Basalat and the woman, and whether police recovered phone records connected to the encounter.
Court proceedings will decide what evidence can be used and whether the case moves toward trial. At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors typically present enough evidence to show that a crime occurred and that the defendant is likely connected to it. Defense counsel may challenge witness accounts, the intent element behind the murder charge or the way police gathered evidence. No final finding of guilt has been made. Teague remains a defendant in a pending criminal case, and the charges are allegations unless proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The public record now centers on a short span of time in a parking lot: Basalat standing near his vehicle, a former partner arriving, several shots fired and a 911 call capturing panic in the background. The next milestone in the case is the early Mercer County court process following Teague’s scheduled preliminary arraignment.
Author note: Last updated June 22, 2026.