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Man shot in Deer Lodge standoff recovering in Missoula hospital

Posted at 11:09 AM, Dec 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-11 13:09:54-05

DEER LODGE – An officer-involved shooting and standoff in Deer Lodge is under investigation by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

The probe is underway after a man was shot and wounded during the exchange of gunfire on Monday. He is still recovering at a Missoula hospital.

When police arrived the suspect fired shots at them through a window and officers returned fire, hitting the man in the right arm before he finally surrendered.

Law enforcement in Deer Lodge exchanged gunfire with a resident inside a home at the intersection of Larabie and Higgins streets on Monday morning.

Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard said the suspect was shot in the standoff and taken to the hospital.

There are several homes in the neighborhood where the standoff took place and some residents said they actually heard the gunfire.

One resident, who lives just across the street from where the standoff occurred actually saw the gunfight take place.

“I looked over and could see the two cops behind the building there and the one had a decent rifle and then all the sudden I heard tic-tic-tic-tic and could see stuff flying off the back of the house,” Joe Spier told MTN News.

He was so surprised by the events he thought he was actually witnessing a police training exercise.

“Seen them coming out the back of the house, seen the glass flying. I thought at first it was a training exercise; they were shooting paintball guns because you could see the blast,” Spier said. “That’s when I called Dispatch because maybe this wasn’t a training exercise.”

Schools were put on lockdown during the incident until the situation was resolved.

Sheriff Howard says the man — whose name has not been released — is being treated at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

DCI agents have been called in to follow-up on the shooting since an officer was involved.

-John Emigh reporting for MTN News

Deer Lodge Shooting
The shooting happened at the intersection of Larabie and Higgins streets in Deer Lodge. (MTN News image)