‘Town Crier’ Newsletter – Briefs from the Region (1) – 12/19/19

Four dead, including shooter, in Great Falls casino shooting

At approximately 2 a.m. on Dec. 17, a gunman opened fire at the Emerald City Casino in Great Falls, killing three casino-goers and injuring a fourth. The unidentified suspect fled the scene, entering a residential neighborhood roughly a mile from the casino before Great Falls police officers engaged the suspect, fatally shooting him behind an elementary school at around 6 a.m. Classes at the school were subsequently canceled and a holiday play was rescheduled. As the injured victim recovers at a Great Falls hospital, the community is left struggling to understand the violence—at this time no motive has been determined as police investigate possible connections between the shooter and the victims.