A 58-year-old man fatally shot himself in Woodland Park on Friday afternoon, culminating a series of events that prompted law enforcement to evacuate the area after discovering the victim was armed with a revolver pistol.
According to a press release from the Kalispell Police Department, law enforcement received a report of a man making suicidal statements shortly before 12 p.m. Officers located the man inside a vehicle parked at Woodland Park about 30 minutes later and discovered that he was armed. The Kalispell Police Department’s Special Response Team and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team established a perimeter and evacuated the park.
Law enforcement established a line of communication with the man and an officer offered to get him help. However, he later shot himself after driving the vehicle over a curb and onto a grassy area a short distance away.
After hearing the report of a single gunshot, officers approached the vehicle and removed the man so that paramedics could try and save him but they were unsuccessful.
The ongoing investigation into the man’s death will be conducted by the state Division of Criminal Investigations.