MISSOULA — Law enforcement is investigating recent incidents of possible gang activity in Missoula.
According to the Missoula Police Department, the reported activity has mostly involved juveniles claiming several different gang affiliations who are suspected of being involved in criminal activity.
MPD is monitoring “suspected gang involvement and take strict enforcement efforts on those individuals who commit crimes while part of a criminal street gang,” a news release states.
Early on the morning of Feb. 2, several people called 911 to report hearing gunshots near Ernest Avenue and South Russell Street. Other callers told dispatchers a suspicious vehicle was seen leaving the area.
Officers soon found a vehicle matching the description and with assistance from the Montana Highway Patrol and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office "conducted a known risk traffic stop of the vehicle," the release states.
The juveniles in the car were detained and police determined the vehicle had been stolen. MPD says that based on previous information, several of the juveniles were suspected of being gang members.
Several of the suspects had gang paraphernalia, according to police. Additionally, a handgun and the same caliber of shell casings that were recovered at the shooting scene were found in the vehicle.
Additional information from the Missoula Police Department:
The investigation confirmed that the shooting was part of an ongoing dispute between rival gang members and that immediately prior to the shooting, some of the juveniles in the stolen car had been displaying gang hand-signs. One juvenile was arrested for two felonies: Criminal Endangerment for allegedly firing the handgun and Theft for allegedly stealing the vehicle. Another juvenile was arrested for Probation Violation. This case has been referred for prosecution and it continues to be actively investigated. Further charges may be referred for prosecution as new information and evidence is discovered through this investigation.
While thankfully no one was injured in this very serious incident, and the Missoula Police Department asks for the community’s assistance in preventing further incidents of this type. In this incident, and in others like it, juveniles often use social media platforms such as Snapchat, Discord, Instagram, and others, to promote or glamorize gang activity and to instigate or continue gang related disputes. Parents and guardians are encouraged to monitor your child’s social media activity for indications of gang involvement such as hand-signs, gang graffiti, conspicuous display of specific colored clothing or bandanas, or for posts involving weapons or threats of violence. Anyone seeing posts such as these, please alert the Missoula Police Department.
Also in this case, and others like it, juveniles have gained access to firearms and use them for criminal purposes. These firearms are most commonly taken from a member of their household or stolen from a vehicle. Please secure your firearms from unauthorized access and never store a firearm in a parked vehicle.
The Montana Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act provides additional penalties for any crimes committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, any criminal street gang. The Missoula Police Department is committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting all criminal street gang activity. To prepare ourselves to take this emerging issue, we are hosting a multi-agency training related to gang activity this month and will use that training to promptly respond to gang issues and to coordinate investigations and prosecutions for gang related crime.
MPD warns that “those who commit violent crimes or who possess or use weapons in furtherance of these crimes are a high enforcement priority to the Missoula Police Department.”
Anyone with information about the incident, or other criminal gang activity, is asked to contact the Missoula Police Department at 406-552-6300 or Crimestoppers at 406-721-4444.
