The Kalispell Police Department has identified the man who two police officers shot and wounded on Tuesday as 30-year-old Ryan Pengelly.
According to a KPD press release, officers were dispatched to the home on Looking Glass Avenue at at about 1:20 p.m. on Jan. 12 for a welfare check. A woman, identified as Pengelly’s mother, had apparently made comments about being suicidal and homicidal, KPD said, and that she had access to firearms.
When officers met the woman at the door, she resisted being taken into custody. At this point, two men in the house emerged from other rooms. Pengelly had a rifle in his hands, KPD said, and allegedly pointed it at the officers after they told him to put it down.
When he didn’t comply, the officers shot him, hitting him multiple times.
Pengelly was given first aid at the scene and taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for surgery. As of Wednesday morning, he was still in critical condition.
In 2012, Pengelly and his wife were surprised with the new house on Looking Glass Avenue as a part of Operation Finally Home, a nonprofit group that builds houses for wounded veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
As a member of the U.S. Army, Pengelly served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, earning several medals.
The woman was taken to KRMC for an evaluation, but was physically unharmed during the incident. The two KPD officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, as per policy, while the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office investigates the shooting.
KPD is withholding the officers’ names at this time. KPD Chief Roger Nasset said that was his call, and he is giving his officers and their families time to adjust before naming them.
“Knowing what’s gone on nationally, some family members are just really scared,” Nasset said.
Nasset said his officers weren’t wearing body cameras, and their body microphones and dashboard cameras were not triggered because they hadn’t turned on the lights or sirens in their car when approaching.