LIVINGSTON — Livingston Police have identified the men involved in a shooting incident on Sunday that left both dead.
On March 21st at about 5:40 am the Livingston Police Department and the Park County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance call at a home in the 300 block of South 9th Street in Livingston. A 33-year-old Livingston woman reported that she and her friend were being harassed by a man the caller identified as Aza Ziegler, a 41-year-old Livingston area man.
Officers and deputies responded to the area and were unable to locate Ziegler. At about 7:25 am, the female called to report Ziegler was inside the home and the situation was escalating to a physical altercation between Ziegler and the caller’s friend, Jason Cushing, a 23-year-old Livingston man.
As law enforcement responded to the disturbance, Livingston/Park County 911 dispatchers advised the responding officers and deputies that shots had been fired inside the home. When law enforcement arrived, they made contact with Ziegler inside the home, who was still in possession of a firearm. Law enforcement made an effort to engage Ziegler in dialogue and end the incident peacefully. Ziegler almost immediately shot himself and died from the resulting wound.
Cushing died at the scene as a result of gunshot wounds that he sustained in an exchange of gunfire with Ziegler.
The female caller was able to leave the home prior to law enforcement’s arrival. She was transported to Livingston Healthcare where she was treated for minor injuries and released. The Livingston Police Department continues to investigate with the assistance of the Park County Sheriff’s Office, the State of Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Montana Highway Patrol.
