BILLINGS — Residents who live near Lake Elmo State Park said Wednesday they were shocked to hear of a shooting last night in their neighborhood.
“I was headed to the supermarket, and I heard firework-like sounds and then a bunch of yelling,” said Dan Taylor, who lives across the street from Lake Elmo.
Taylor, who is in his 30s, said he is saddened by the shooting, but he also thinks there's a way for people who live nearby to make sure things like this don’t happen again.
“Now I think the best way to prevent it is just to put yourself out there to where things don’t seem so vacant or alone or empty so that people don’t get the idea that these are the places they can come to cause trouble,” said Taylor.
The shooting involved two boys ages 14 and 15. The 15-year-old was sent to the hospital with a gunshot wound, and police have provided no more updates. The 14-year-old was arrested but has since been released, according to Billings police.
Another neighbor, Jim Reno, has lived in Billings all his life and said the shooting came as a surprise to him.
“We don’t really have that stuff around here. I'm sure it happens other places, but it always happens somewhere else. When you live pretty close by you go really, we have to start dealing with that now,” said Reno, a former Yellowstone County commissioner.
Reno and Taylor both said they hope something like this doesn’t happen again.
Watch:
