Bozeman Has 2nd Retail Shooting This Year. Is It Time To Worry?

For the second time in just over two months, another shooting has taken place at a Bozeman retail location.

Bozeman Police were called to Wal-Mart off of 7th Avenue on Sunday evening after a man fired a pistol at another man in the store's parking lot. The incident took place right around 8:34 pm according to court reports.

Police took the alleged shooter, a 33-year-old male into custody, and according to the police report, the suspect claims that he felt sexually threatened by the other man after he asked him for a lighter.  The suspect claims that his Glock 9mm accidentally went off and struck the other man's car.

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This of course isn't the first time we've had a shooting at the Walmart location here in Bozeman.  Back on July 31st, Bozeman Police responded to the retail store after a man shot another man following a confrontation outside the store.

So, is it time to worry? Should Bozemanites be concerned?

According to Backgroundchecks.org, Bozeman is tied with Kalispel for the safest city in Montana. In fact, according to the statistics, Bozeman has a 2.78 per 1000 violent crime rate, which is below both the state and national average.

While I'm not sure it is time to hit the panic button just yet, it certainly is alarming that we're seeing this in our community. One would like to think that they are safe when they decide to go to a grocery or retail store here in town.

After the first shooting took place back in the summer, we asked Bozemanites if the incident made them more likely to carry a gun, and the overwhelming response (71 percent) was "Yes".

I'm guessing this latest incident will only increase that sentiment.