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Suspect in Missoula high school shooting will be charged as an adult

Posted at 4:22 PM, Nov 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-26 23:07:04-05

MISSOULA – The 17-year-old accused of shooting two teenagers behind Missoula Sentinel High School in June will be charged as an adult.

Judge John Larson ruled that Dylan Conat, 17, will face an assault with a weapon charge as an adult after a transfer hearing was held in October over the incident that took place on June 25.

Court documents state that the two victims told police that Conat had attempted to rob them behind the school after meeting him at Southgate Mall. They said that they were able to fight off Conat and wrestle the gun away from him in the process.

Conat told a different story when he took to the stand during the transfer hearing in October, saying that the two teens had attempted to rob him. Conat said he pointed a handgun at the two victims in order to get them to stop beating him and that he feared for his life.

Conat testified that he never intentionally fired the gun, and that it “went off twice” when one of the teens tried to pull the gun out of his hands.

Larson says that Conat has had a violent past and that an assault with a weapon charge warrants prosecution in district court.

Story by Connor McCauley, MTN News

Related: Suspect in Missoula high school shooting arrested

Related: Accused Sentinel High School shooter testifies during transfer hearing