3 dead, suspect sought on Montana reservation

BILLINGS — Three people were killed in a remote area of the Crow Reservation and a manhunt was under way for a suspect who may be armed, authorities said Tuesday.

FBI agents were on the reservation investigating the deaths, but had little information to release immediately beyond the number of victims, agency spokeswoman Deborah Bertram said.

The killings took place about five miles south of Lodge Grass in a remote area of the southeast Montana reservation, Big Horn County Commissioner John Pretty on Top said. People were told to lock their doors and stay inside, including about 160 students at Lodge Grass High School.

"They just told us code yellow, which means get in your class, turn the lights off and put stuff on the windows so nobody can see inside," said Tanya Little Light, a secretary at the school. "It was probably about 1:50 or so. They just told us there was some kind of accident or something."

School was supposed to be out for the afternoon when she spoke, and some parents were coming to get their children, Little Light said. The parents had to come to the front door before the children would be released, she said.

The victims' identities weren't released and it wasn't immediately clear when or how they were killed.

Pretty on Top said the killings occurred at a home and that a family member was a suspect in the killings. That couldn't be immediately confirmed by law enforcement sources.

"A young man went and killed some people up near Lodge Grass," Pretty on Top said. "They've got rangers up there, moving about quite a bit."

Pretty on Top lives in Lodge Grass but was in a neighboring town when reached by The Associated Press.