DEER LODGE — A man is jailed in connection with shooting another man in Deer Lodge Wednesday morning.
The Powell County Sheriff reports 23-year-old Erik C. Holland faces charges of attempted deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, and criminal endangerment. He’s accused of shooting and wounding 38-year-old Bradley Masters outside a residence in the 900 block of Gilbert Avenue just before 11 a.m.
Deer Lodge police and the sheriff were involved in a car chase with the suspect on county roads north of Deer Lodge that ended in a standoff.
“The suspect at that point remained in his vehicle for approximately 10 minutes. We were trying to communicate with him, negotiate with him, that type of thing. Eventually, he was responsive to my commands, and he came out of the vehicle and was taken into custody,” said Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles.
The sheriff said the suspect and the victim knew each other and this wasn’t a random shooting. The victim was treated at Deer Lodge Medical Center.
“I can say that the nature of the injury was serious. I have talked to the victim since yesterday, he is talking and able to communicate with me, so that part of it is good,” said Roselles.
Local schools were temporarily put on lockdown immediately after the shooting was reported.
“In order to keep the kids at school safe, that was one of our immediate concerns and they were notified,” said Roselles.
The sheriff described this as a very dangerous situation, but in the end, it turned out with the best possible result.
“This incident was handled remarkably well by everybody involved. We had the suspect contained in about 40 minutes in an area that extended almost 7 miles outside of Deer Lodge, so I think it went very well,” Roselles said.
The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
