The Great Falls Police Department assisted Toole County authorities Monday after a reported shooting in Kevin resulted in a suspect barricading himself in a Shelby home.
Toole County Sheriff Donna Whitt contacted GFPD at 9 a.m. and specifically requested the High Risk Unit.
At the time, the Toole County Sheriff’s Office was conducting a homicide investigation after a man was found dead at a Kevin residence. They also had a suspect who was barricaded in Shelby with a female hostage.
The request was approved and the HRU was dispatched to Shelby.
The Toole County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect eventually released the female hostage Monday afternoon after negotiations.
The suspect later opened fire on officers from inside the home and officers “engaged in an exchange of gunfire,” according to the TCSO. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The names of those involved have not yet been released.
All GFPD resources are back in Great Falls at this time.
The GFPD stated mutual aid requests are frequent in Montana. Due to the vast geographical area and exhaustible first responder resources, mutual aid assistance to appropriately handle major incidents can be needed at times.
The GFPD reported their role was supplementary to the Toole County Sheriff’s Office and will not provide any further information because the investigation is active by both Toole County officials and the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation.
(April 22, 2019) Two people are dead after a day-long incident that started with a possible shooting in Kevin and ended in a standoff in Shelby.
According to the Toole County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a call from a female Monday morning who reported a possible shooting in Kevin.
When deputies responded, they found a man dead at a Kevin residence.
Further investigation showed that a man had taken a female at gunpoint from the Kevin home to his residence in Shelby.
The suspect barricaded himself and the female hostage inside the home and Toole County deputies blocked off the area, which was near Marias Medical Center.
Several law enforcement agencies were called in to assist including the Great Falls Police Department’s High Risk Unit and a Conrad Police Department negotiator.
Officials communicated with the people inside the residence and the suspect eventually released the female hostage. Negotiations with the suspect continued.
The Toole County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect then opened fire on officers from inside the home and officers “engaged in an exchange of gunfire.”
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the request of Toole County Sheriff Donna Whitt, the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting.
Officials do not believe the public is in danger.
The names of those involved have not yet been released.
Responding law enforcement agencies included Toole County Sheriff’s Office, Toole County Search and Rescue, Toole County Ambulance, Great Falls Police Department, Conrad Police Department, FBI, Border Patrol, and Montana Highway Patrol among others.
We will update you when we get more information.
