BILLINGS — A late-night car meet-up in Billings turned violent Friday night when fights and gunfire broke out. It is the latest escalation in a pattern of illegal street racing and meet-ups that have caused some businesses to boost security.
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The Billings Police Department is still investigating a shooting that happened Friday night at a Town Pump gas station on the 3900 block of King Avenue West, a known hot spot for late-night meetups. According to Sgt. Jeff Stovall, 10-12 patrol cars were dispatched after reports of a fight and erupted gunfire just before 11 p.m., leaving a dented gas pump and a vehicle with bullet holes.
“There was well over 100 kids there, several vehicles parked throughout the parking lot," said Stovall.
Related: Billings police investigating late-night shooting at Town Pump gas station
One individual has been arrested in connection with the incident, according to Stovall, although not directly for the gunfire.
"We appreciate the quick response from the Billings Police Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department, and the Billings Fire Department to our Shiloh and King Avenue West store. As the investigation continues, we will continue to cooperate and work with local law enforcement agencies," wrote a Town Pump representative in a statement to MTN.
The incident has shed light on the growing pattern of car gatherings that have escalated in recent months. A nearby resident, who requested to only use her first name, Kim, said she observed a large group of vehicles congregating in the Kohl’s parking lot across the street in Shiloh Crossing earlier that night. She called the non-emergency line but was left on hold. Kim said she has seen more incidents there since moving to the area only three years ago.
“Starting last summer, it's really gotten worse,” said Kim. "We have a serious problem out here on the West End with the cars, the motorcycles. It starts on Friday night, goes through Sunday.”
Kim has called law enforcement multiple times over loud car-related disturbances, a problem that is disrupting her daily life.
“I have to sleep at night on the weekends with earplugs in my house,” said Kim. “All of us are upset about it, but what do we do?”
According to the Billings Police Department, the West End, mainly King Avenue and Shiloh Crossing, has increasingly become a playground for late-night drag races, reckless driving, and loud, disruptive car gatherings, especially for younger drivers in the summer months. The department receives several complaints of reckless driving each weekend.
“It's becoming a common issue in Billings that we are well aware of as the police department, especially on the West End of town," said Stovall. "It's a huge nuisance for the city."
Stovall noted these gatherings are not affiliated with official car enthusiast clubs and do not appear to be gang-related activity.
"It's not your typical car meet-up (...) This is more unorganized, and it's a group of younger 20s, early 30s down to high school-aged kids that are out there, and they just want to be the tough guy on the block," said Stovall. "We see a lot of younger kids that are driving $100,000 Corvettes, which then leads us to think sometimes the parents are involved in some of this, allowing their kids to drive these high-dollar, very, very powerful vehicles that have too much power for the experience of these kids to drive."
While shootings within these gatherings remain rare, Stovall acknowledged that fights and disorder are common. The department has issued citations and even towed vehicles in past instances. If drivers are found to be impaired or create a substantial safety risk, it could lead to felony driving criminal endangerment charges.
"We actually have a city ordinance that parents can't knowingly allow their kids out after curfew to be out doing these things unless it's for a legitimate reason, so racing your car up and down Shiloh, that's not a legitimate reason," said Stovall.
To combat the chaos, local businesses in the Shiloh Commons, such as Scheels, have started hiring officers to patrol parking lots after hours. While the move has helped deter loiterers, it comes as an added expense to businesses and overtime for law enforcement.
"They've had a huge problem with it where people are marking up their parking lot and doing donuts and those kinds of things. Just reckless behavior," said Stovall. “That's where it comes from at the end of the day, is they don't want to see people get hurt, and this behavior and this type of driving action is exactly that's how it results.”
To help drive numbers down, Billings police and residents like Kim are urging parents to keep tabs on their children’s whereabouts, especially during weekend nights, and calling for a broader community response.
“As a community, I think we all need to do something to try to curb the problem,” said Kim. “(When) someone says, 'Well, it happens everywhere else,' I say, 'Well, yeah, but you got to stop it. It's growing out here."
“We ask that parents step in (and) these kids start taking a little bit more responsibility for what they're doing," added Stovall. "It's fine. It's warm outside. You can be outside doing your thing until curfew, but let's find things productive to do rather than reckless situations like this.”
