Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputies Confront Armed Man in East Missoula [AUDIO]

Saturday, September 14 at about 5:00 p.m. 9-1-1 received a call from an East Missoula woman claiming that a male friend who was angry and had been drinking had a rifle and fired a shot into the air.

Public Information Officer Paige Pavalone described how the incident began.

"The woman called 9-1-1 to say her male friend had been drinking and an argument had ensued between the two of them. She left the house and went about 100 yards away, when she saw the man emerge from the house with a rifle and fire a shot into the air," Pavalone said. "At that time, the man was issuing threats against anyone who came near him, and she told emergency personnel that if law enforcement showed up there may be a shootout."

The woman was able to get to a friend's house where she kept in communication with 9-1-1.

"Emergency responders staged at the bottom of Marshall Grade, and because they didn't know the severity of the situation or his state of mind, they called in the SWAT team," Pavalone said. "About an hour and a half after the call came in, the armored vehicle pulled into the man's driveway when the 31 year-old man emerged from his home and became confrontational with the SWAT team, demanding that they leave his property, The SWAT team subdued the man and took him into custody without further incident."

Pavalone said no one was injured in the incident, and the unidentified man was placed in the Missoula County Detention Center accused of criminal endangerment. She said authorities are hesitant to call the incident a standoff because he wasn't pointing a gun at anyone, however, they were being extra cautious in approaching the situation.

The entire incident lasted about 90 minutes from the time the call came in to the time the man was arrested and taken into custody.

Missoula County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Paige Pavalone