BILLINGS — A man died after being taken to a hospital in Billings following a suspected "road rage" shooting.
The incident happened at about 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, 2022, on 4th Avenue and 32nd Street near downtown Billings.
Billings Police Sergeant Brad Mansur says the preliminary investigation shows the incident was between two men in separate vehicles and there is no threat to the public.
The name of the person who was shot has not yet been released.
At this point, the suspect in the shooting has not been identified or apprehended. Police are continuing to investigate.
"Rarely do we see where they're getting out of their cars and they're getting into physical altercation," said Lt. Matt Lennick of the Billings Police Department. "That does not happen that frequently. It does happen but not that frequently."
But Lennick says the police receive calls every day about road rage, usually a couple during each shift.
He talked about how to stay out of those situations.
"Number one is if something happens that you're disgruntled with, to start, don't engage with the other driver," Lennick said. "Don't flip them off. Don't follow people. Don't get upset over somebody's driving behavior."
He says if someone approaches your car, stay in your vehicle, get a description of the vehicle, leave the area and head toward the police station. He says dispatchers can give instructions on how to get help from an officer.
"They'll try to direct you towards a direction where there is an officer waiting or that they can intercept," Lennick said about dispatchers. "And then they can deal with whatever the disturbance is or whatever the traffic complaint was, and help resolve the situation."
Nationally, deadly road rage shootings hit a record high in 2021, with 131 people killed.
"A lot of times it's a misunderstanding or somebody did something that was perceived the wrong way," Lennick said. "And there's no real communication when you're driving so you don't know what the other person was intending to do."
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