BREAKING: Heavy Police Presence Reported in Billings Heights Area
UPDATED at 8:44pm on Thursday, August 6:
The search for 2 gunmen in the Billings Heights on Thursday morning (8/6) began with a shooting in Shepherd, according to a press release from the Yellowstone County Sheriffs Office.
According to the report, the incident began when a Yellowstone County man in his 60's witnessed someone stealing an ATV ramp from his vehicle. When he man attempted to pursue the vehicle, a passenger vehicle fired a gun at him and was struck, but reports are the injury is non-life threatening.
Yellowstone County deputies were responding to the reported theft and shooting in the 7000 block of Highway 312 around 9am this morning, when the suspect vehicle was spotted driving in the other direction.
The Deputy and other officers pursued the vehicle, a blue Toyota pickup, but they eventually lost it in the heights. The vehicle was located a short time later, in a yard on Sahara drive. Law enforcement converged on the location, and conducted a thorough search of the area. At the time of this release, a suspect has not been apprehended.
Several law enforcement agencies were searching all morning for at least two suspect involved in this incident, and it's unknown if others are involved, according to the press release.
Shortly after the incident on Highway 312, a vehicle was stolen from Cline Road, which runs just off 312. A witness reported seeing a blue Toyota pickup, that matched the vehicle in the earlier shooting, leaving the driveway on Cline Road where a white Ford pickup was stolen.
The vehicle that was stolen from the residence on Cline Rd. is described as a white 2016 Ford F350 4 door flatbed pickup. The pickup has a black, heavy-duty front bumper and grill guard. The flatbed has a hydraulic bale handler. The white pickup was last seen headed towards Billings on Hwy 312, shortly after 9:00 this morning.
Yellowstone County Sheriffs have no doubt these two incidents are connected, and ask that anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area call 406-657-8200 to have an officer dispatched, or dial 911.
We've received several reports of heavy police presence in the Billings Heights area around 8:45am this morning (Thursday 8/6). Residents in the area have gotten robocalls telling them to shelter in place with doors locked, and to call 911 to report any suspicious activity.
According to the Billings Police Department Twitter page, there are 2 armed gunmen that Billings PD and the Yellowstone County Sheriffs Office is searching for in the Alkali Creek and Sahara area of the Rims.
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