BOX ELDER - Law enforcement agencies are investigating the shooting deaths of two men on Thursday in Box Elder.
Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said deputies responded to reports of shots fired in the parking lot of D&L Bar at about 1:30 a.m. Deputies found two men had been shot at the gas pumps.
Both men were taken to a medical facility in private vehicles. The ambulance met one of the vehicles in Laredo. The other vehicle was met by tribal police who rendered aid and transferred him to an ambulance.
The two men have been identified as Darin Bernard Caplette, 41, and Thomas Roderick Yallup, 42, both residents of the Rocky Boy Reservation.
“The initial information indicates that this was a targeted assault directed at these two men and we don’t have any evidence currently that would indicate a risk to the public at large," Ross said. "Expect to see a large law enforcement presence in the Box Elder area for a considerable time. We have many crime scenes to process and witness to interview.”
The bodies will be sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for autopsy.
Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call 406-265-2512.
Deputies with the Chouteau County Sheriff's Office, along with officers from other agencies, have been assisting with the investigation.
The Montana Department of Transportation says that a section of US Highway 87 is blocked near Box Elder for a half-mile due to a " law enforcement incident in all lanes," and that drivers should expect delays in the area.
