MISSOULA – Missoula Police Captain Mike Colyer says that a handgun has been found on Sentinel High School property on Monday, and that it appears to be consistent with evidence found from the scene of a shooting Sunday evening that sent two teens to the hospital.
The two victims are out of surgery and expected to survive their injuries.
Missoula Police say they are searching for a suspect, who so far has only been described as a male wearing red sweatpants. Missoula Assistant Police Chief Scott Hoffman said Sunday that there is no danger to the public.
Investigators are reportedly speaking with both the victims, but say that their current medical conditions make it difficult to communicate very well. The names of the victims have not been released.
The two teens were found shot on the campus of Sentinel High School shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Sunday after witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the area. The shooting occurred behind the gymnasium in the road running between the main school building and several outbuildings.
Sentinel High School Principal Ted Fuller said on Monday that the two teens were not MCPS students, and that there is no indication that Sentinel students and staff were intended targets for violence.
"There were members of the boys’ basketball team participating in an open gym at the time of the incident," Fuller said. "All student-athletes were escorted out of the school through an alternate entrance and picked up by their parents. Students were allowed to retrieve their personal vehicles from the south parking lots after the crime scene was cleared by the Missoula Police Department."
Full said that all Sentinel High School summer operations, programs and camps are continuing as planned.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is being asked to call Missoula Police Detective Mitch Lang at 406-552-6292.
