Girl shot, suspect flees then turns self in

A 17-year-old girl was shot with a handgun while riding on a rural county road Thursday afternoon, Hill County court documents say.

The gunshot wound was not life-threatening and the juvenile was expected to be released from the hospital soon.

The alleged shooter is 21-year-old Havre man Josh Herrig. He is being held at the Hill County Detention Center on a $20,000 bond and pending charges of partner or family member assault, assault with a weapon, criminal endangerment and tampering with evidence.

Justice Court documents say Hill County sheriff’s deputies were helping the Havre Police Department look for Herrig due to an allegation that he had pointed a handgun at his girlfriend. During their search, emergency room staff at Northern Montana Hospital reported at 1:35 p.m. Thursday a gunshot wound.

Officers discovered the girl had been riding with Herrig and another girl, who was driving, on County Road 637 West. The girl who was shot was in the front passenger seat and Herrig in the back, when, the driver told police, she “heard a loud boom.” The driver looked over and saw the girl bleeding, documents say.

The driver stopped the car and Herrig left the vehicle and fled, the driver told officers. The driver took the bleeding victim to the hospital.

Deputies and Montana Highway patrolmen unsuccessfully searched for Herrig in the area of the reported shooting, a Friday press release said.

Deputies interviewed the alleged victim Friday. She said Herrig wanted to go to a gas station to get a drink, began searching through his duffel bag when the gun went off.

Herrig turned himself in at the detention center at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. He told a deputy he had taken the gun apart and thrown it in a coulee south of Havre, documents say.

The weapon used in the shooting, Sheriff’s’ Office Chief Deputy Cory Matkin said Thursday, was probably a 9 mm-caliber firearm.