Man Guns Down 3 Native Americans in Montana

By CP News Briefs, Wednesday, October 05, 2011

A man has gunned down three Native Americans at the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana Tuesday night.

The triple murder happened when Sheldon Bernard Chase, aged 22, shot an elderly woman, her granddaughter and her boyfriend, who were all Indian tribal members.

The suspect is not Native American and has been described as “armed and extremely dangerous” by police.

Crow Tribal Chairman Black Eagle said: “I don't know him. He is not a tribal member, but his mother is a tribal member. His father is from North Dakota. That's all I know. We are doing as well as we can trying to comprehend what happened today. We have been deeply affected and have asked Indian Health Services to provide grief counseling for this tragedy.”

The shooting took place at a house on the corner of a reservation near the Lodge Grass site. The victims were shot with a high-powered rifle, according to Billings Gazette.

The FBI said the suspect is thought to be driving a Toyota Corolla or Celica with a South Dakota or North Dakota license plate. They are also looking for a red Volkswagen Jetta with an expired Montana license plate. He is 6 ft tall, weighs about 230 lbs and is thought to have a history of mental illness.

Chairman Black Eagle wrote a statement on his Facebook yesterday saying: “In the coming days we need to pull together even tighter as a community and support these families in every way possible.”