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State investigating police shooting during standoff in Deer Lodge

Posted at 6:32 PM, Dec 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-11 20:32:12-05

DEER LODGE – Agents with the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, along with help from the Montana Highway Patrol, continued on Tuesday to investigate the scene of a standoff in Deer Lodge.

The standoff ended Monday morning when officers shot a man who was firing a gun at random in a home at the intersection of Larabie and Higgins Ave.

“Immediately when the officers pulled in they started talking gunfire from the suspect. They got in a defensive mode and one of the officers fired his rifle, and the suspect quit shooting at that time,” said Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard.

Police were called to the residence Monday just before 9 a.m. on reports of multiple shots being fired inside the house.

“DCI told me there was somewhere between 50 to 60 rounds,” said Howard.

Police were initially called to the residence Sunday evening on a report of an argument between the suspect and his girlfriend.

“There was no domestic violence of any kind, other than a verbal argument. Officers asked if they would be willing to separate for the night, which is very common, and they did separate for the night,” the sheriff explained.  “The next morning the female got up early and left to go to Missoula. The male returned to the residence and he called 911 and was asking my dispatcher ‘I want to know what’s going on, I came here there’s nobody here.’ He immediately after that started shooting up inside the house and shooting out the windows and shooting vehicles in the yard.”

There have been no charges in this matter as of Tuesday while the investigation continues. The suspect, whose identity authorities have not released, is recovering from a gunshot wound to his right arm at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula.