A Montana Highway Patrolman is in critical condition after being shot early Friday morning.
The Montana Highway Patrol says Trooper Wade Palmer found a car matching the description of a shooting suspect from Missoula near the Evaro Bar and Casino.
Shortly after calling it in, another Trooper arrived on scene to find Trooper Palmer shot and still seat-belted in his patrol car. The Trooper and an officer from the Missoula Police Department took Trooper Palmer to an ambulance at the intersection of Highway 93 and I-90. From there, Trooper Palmer was taken to St. Patrick Hospital, where at last update, he was listed in critical condition.
Palmer has been with the Montana Highway Patrol in Missoula since 2012 and was awarded the Medal of Valor for his lifesaving efforts at the scene of a multiple car crash involving a mother and her young children in 2014. Trooper Palmer has a wife and two young children.
Following an extensive manhunt, the suspect in the shootings, Jonathan Bertsch, was taken into custody without incident.
Bertsch was the suspect in an earlier shooting in Missoula where three people were shot in a car. Police said two men and one woman all suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to the hospital. Their exact condition is unknown at this time.
The Department of Justice and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the shooting.
