BUTTE – A bizarre and violent scene occurred in an office building in Uptown Butte early Thursday evening when a gunman fired several shots in the building and then jumped from a second story window.
The incident began about 4:30 p.m. when a man armed with a 9mm handgun entered the Butte Police Department’s lobby on North Alaska Street claiming he was in danger. He then left the lobby of the police department, walked across the street to and entered the Synesis7 office building. Police followed him and began evacuating the employees.
“And the officers continued to evacuate, and the people were evacuating themselves because he made a bizarre comment. I’m not sure exactly what he said, but he did indicate he would shoot anybody who wasn’t wearing a badge,” said Butte Sheriff Ed Lester.
Employees were able to escape the building unharmed. And that’s when the gunman started firing through a second story window.
“He fired somewhere between four or five rounds from 9mm handgun through a window from the office building on the second floor. The building across the street sustained a gunshot to one of the windows and then he jumped out the window causing injury to himself and was taken into custody right outside the window,” said Lester.
The man was taken to St. James HealthCare with extreme injuries to his lower body. Investigators are still not sure what caused this violent outburst but say the man was acting very erratically.
“He said he needed some help and indicated somebody was after him. We don’t know whether he was having some mental situation or was under the influence of methamphetamine or some other narcotic,” said the sheriff.
The investigation into this violent incident continues. The 28-year-old suspect remained hospitalized Thursday evening. Police did not fire any shots during the incident.
(Dec. 27, 2018) BUTTE – An armed man acting erratically entered an Uptown Butte office building and fired several shots before jumping from a second story window late Thursday afternoon.
No one other than the gunman was injured in this incident, according to Butte Sheriff Ed Lester.
The armed man is being treated at St. James Health Care in Butte.
The incident occurred at the Synesis7 office building at 220 N. Alaska St.
We will update this developing story as we receive new information.
