Authorities have arrested Dwayne Smail, 23, in relation to the Wednesday shooting death of an 18-month-old girl in Evergreen.
Smail was caring for the child when she was shot in the head, Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan said in a press release . The cause and manner of death is still under investigation, but authorities confirmed that the toddler had access to a loaded handgun that resulted in her death. “Enough probable cause existed at the scene to arrest” Smail, Meehan said.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Montana Village Apartments in Evergreen shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday. The young girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim’s body was taken to the State Crime Lab in Missoula for an autopsy.