Gunfire lands man in hospital

A woman’s father allegedly shot her

boyfriend early Sunday morning at her parents’ Happys Inn-area

residence in an incident that law-enforcement officials say

involved alcohol.

Scott Haskins, 38, of Olympia, Wash.,

was airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center after sustaining

non-life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound to his upper

back, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe.

According to witness statements, Bowe

said, Haskins and his girlfriend’s father, 69-year-old Conrad Budd

of Libby, had an altercation preceding the shooting. Haskins

attempted to re-enter the residence after being told to leave, Bowe

said, and Budd, who was standing outside the home, allegedly shot

him with a handgun.

A witness reported the shooting in a

911 call at about 3:10 a.m., Bowe said. After sheriff deputies

arrived, Fisher River Valley Fire and Rescue administered aid to

Haskins, who was placed on a helicopter at about 4:23 a.m. to be

transported to Kalispell.

Budd was detained and questioned about

the incident but was later released.

It had not yet been determined whether

the shooting was criminal or an act of self-defense, Bowe said, so

no charges had been filed as of Monday. The decision would

ultimately be up to the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, he added,

which was closed Monday for a federal holiday.