BILLINGS — On Wednesday night,a road-rage incident turned into a high-speed chase in Billings Heights, leaving many of the residents in that area rattled.
The chase ended on Artistocrat Drive, after Billings police spiked the suspect's tires and the car became immobile. It began when the suspect was involved in a road-rage incident that led to gunfire.
Billings police later attempted to make a routine traffic stop, not initially realizing that the car was involved in the earlier incident. When the car sped away, officers tied the two incidents together.
"Dispatch pieced it together very quickly that the vehicle was the suspect description," said Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick Thursday morning. "They were authorized to pursue because the vehicle did fail to yield."
That pursuit excelled to high speeds and went through many different areas in the Heights. Residents living near Aristocrat Drive got to witness the end of the chase unfold.
"We started hearing sirens and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, there's something going on,'" said Samantha Duran. "It's like a blur when they just go by. You know, it's like, really scary, especially having so many kids around here."
Other residents said that the speeds in what normally is a quiet neighborhood were dangerous.
"That is scary fast," said Ember Oland. "That fast is super scary to have maybe possibly our kids involved. You never know what's going to happen."
Others feared what could have happened in the worst-case scenario. Annie Smith said her family had no idea that the situation was unfolding so close to home.
"We had our windows open all night long," Smith said. "There's a gap between our fence in the backyard, and they could've hid over here. So yeah, it's very concerning. I mean we've got kids."
Billings police said that the suspect fled from his vehicle after the pursuit ended. Lennick said that they knew where the suspect ended up, but they weren't able to engage.
"They had gone as far as they could with the information they had," Lennick said. "So, we had to break everything down at this point."
Because of that, the suspect has yet to be apprehended, though Lennick assured MTN that there is no longer any risk to the public.
"We don't believe at this time that the suspect is out roaming around looking for a place to go," Lennick said. "They got where they were needing to go."
Road-rage incidents involving shootings are on the rise, up 400 percent nationwide from 2014 to 2023, according to online newsroom The Trace. MTN spoke with MSU Billings psychology professor Brent Finger about some reasons why.
"One of the leading causes of aggressive behavior is when a person's goals are thwarted," Finger said. "This is known as the frustration-aggression principle."
Finger said that principle on the road stems from the frustration drivers have from struggling to get from point A to point B. He said the level of violence the anger escalates to is based on the individual and their genetics as well as how they grew up.
"The immediate response to having your goal thwarted is anger, but some of us are able to contain that anger better than others," Finger said. "Obviously, this is going to be more of a problem if the person has a weapon in the car."
And with this problem seemingly unresolved, residents remain concerned over their safety.
"It adds a lot of stress and anxiety, you know, knowing that he's still out there somewhere with a gun," Duran said. "It makes me want to protect everyone here."
