BILLINGS — A Billings family is searching for answers after 17-year-old Scott Rozell was fatally shot Friday night at a house in the 300 block of South 33rd Street.
“I'm having a hard time with it because of how young he was. He never had a job... He never fell in love for real. He never... He never did a lot of things. He never left the state for more than a couple days," Rozell's sister, Amber Rozell, told MTN.
Hear from the family below:
The details surrounding Rozell's death have yet to be confirmed by Billings Police, raising concern and confusion for the family.
According to the family, it took until Saturday afternoon to find out that Rozell had died. Rozell's brother-in-law Shawn Betancourt said that the family first learned of the incident from a neighbor.
"It took Scott's own mother to go to the house where she dropped him off that night and find out from a neighbor that there was a shooting," Betancourt said. "And having to contact dispatch herself to find out her own son is dead. Now, it's days later and we don't have a shred of answers. All we have are questions. Questions on questions on questions, and no answers."
Billings Police said additional information cannot be released because it involves a juvenile. Lt. Samantha Puckett said Monday afternoon that police attempted to contact Rozell's mother by phone and a home visit but were not immediately successful.
Family told MTN News that Rozell was somehow shot and killed and another 16-year-old, Laramie Jackson, remains in the hospital with serious gunshot injuries to his jaw.
Amber Rozell has set up a GoFundMe page as they continue to search for answers.
"I have a really big family, but we don't have much of anything," Rozell said. "I don't know what to do. It's the only thing I can think of that maybe will take away the stress of planning all of the next things we have to figure out now."
