Woman critically injured in standoff

A 54-year-old Columbia Falls woman was critically injured Thursday night, Oct. 10, when SWAT Team members shot her as she approached them with a loaded handgun.

Michelle Gentry was struck by two rounds fired by a SWAT Team deputy. She was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition.

The incident at Gentry’s residence on Eastland Crossroads, at the south end of Columbia Falls Stage Road, began around 2 p.m. when Flathead County deputies responded to a report of an armed and suicidal woman.

Deputies were able to make contact with Gentry by phone and confirm that she was armed and suicidal. When she refused to exit the house, negotiations were initiated and the SWAT Team was called in.

A perimeter was established around the residence, and negotiations continued for several hours until Gentry exited holding a handgun and was shot.

The Kalispell Police Department agreed to complete an outside investigation of the incident and process the scene. Deputies released the scene to them when KPD officers arrived. The deputy who fired at Gentry has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of the investigation.