Lorne Douglas Edwards Nichols has been charged in connection with a gunshot injury to a teen that happened north of Great Falls just after midnight on Saturday, September 6th.
Family members say the person who was shot is 17-year old Kyrsten Ryan, and that she is expected to remain in the ICU for several days.
Brianna Juneau reports - watch:
Court documents state that Ryan told deputies that after a high school football game she drove to a location along US Highway 87 several miles northeast of Great Falls, accompanied by a friend.
While socializing with friends inside the building, Ryan said she saw the beginning of a "physical altercation" between two people, one of whom was Nichols.
She said that Nichols then left the premises after the fight but later returned and tried to instigate another fight, and he produced a firearm.
When displayed the gun, Ryan moved to a position near a closed garage door, telling deputies that she positioned herself there because "nobody wanted to get shot" and she "didn't want to get too close to the guy with the gun."
Court documents say she then heard what she described as a "boom,"and began having difficulty breathing and fell backward, later learning that she had been hit by a bullet.
When deputies arrived, they learned that several witnesses, along with Nichols, had already left the scene.
Deputies provided medical attention to Ryan, who had been hit by a bullet in the midline of her neck near the esophagus; the bullet perforated her body, striking her lung, and exited near her left scapula. She was taken to Benefis Health System in Great Falls for treatment.
Just after 1 a.m., Nichols called Cascade County Dispatch and identified himself as the shooter. He told the dispatcher that the fight was about somebody taking his "clip."
He said that he was now at Jaycee Park and had taken the firearm apart and placed it on a table in the park. Investigators found Nichols at the park and a Glock 43x with a 20-round magazine on a table.
Nichols admitted that during the altercation he cycled the slide of the handgun knowing the magazine was loaded.
Deputies later reviewed two Snapchat videos which were taken by witnesses at original scene. The videos show the individuals involved in the incident at what appears to be a party at the building.
During the videos, Nichols is engaged in a physical altercation inside of the building. The physical altercation proceeds to exit the building at which point Nichols brandishes a firearm and fires two bullets from a 20-round magazine.
One of those bullets perforated the shop wall and struck Ryan.
Court documents state that a tentative initial charge of assault with a weapon was dismissed without prejudice.
Nichols is charged with felony criminal endangerment. After a complete review of the investigative file, prosecutors will re-evaluate the potential charges in this case.
A GoFundMe has been created to help Ryan's family; it states:
Kyrsten went to a party to give her friend a safe ride home, but while she was there, she was standing in the wrong place as a fight broke out. She was shot once, and the bullet hit her in her low neck/high chest at an angle after going through a wall. From there, the bullet missed her carotid artery, hit her top rib, ricocheted up, and went through her shoulder and out through her back. The bullet luckily missed all of her major organs and arteries but did not come without injuries. The bullet punctured the top of her left lung and caused it to collapse, as well as fracturing her rib and left shoulder. Luckily, three heroic guys stayed with her until an ambulance arrived and kept her alert and awake while applying pressure to both the entrance and exit wounds.
If you would like to donate, click here.
We will update you if we get more information.
