Missoula Woman Fires Shot Near Her Boyfriend’s Head
On Wednesday, Missoula County Sherriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a Huson residence. According to dispatch, 42-year-old Valerie Bridges called 911 to report that her boyfriend, John Doe, had fired a gun and had pointed it at her.
When deputies arrived, Bridges was waiting for them in her car in the driveway and Doe was sitting outside the residence. Bridges said that Doe was begging her to move in with him and was upset about her hesitancy to do so.
Bridges said Doe eventually left the house to retrieve Bridges’ gun from the purse inside her car. Bridges said Doe returned with the pistol tucked in the back of his pants. Bridges stated she left the house and then heard a gunshot. She said that Doe said it was an accident and handed Bridges the gun. Bridges said she handed it back to Doe to unload it for her.
Deputies also interviewed Doe who said he and Bridges had been in a relationship for about the last year. According to court documents, Doe said Bridges had threatened to shoot herself several times over the past two days.
Doe said that Bridges showed up at his residence with a loaded .22 magnum pistol. Doe said he tried to break things off with Bridges, but Bridges declined and began pointing the gun at both her and him. Doe said he took video of Bridges pointing the gun at him. He said he saw Bridge’s finger on the trigger of the cocked gun and ducked numerous times as she continued to point it at him. Doe described being terrified.
Doe said Bridges pointed the gun toward him and demanded he delete the videos. At one point, Bridges fired off a round near Doe’s head, close enough that his ear was still in pain. While Doe was showing Bridges that he was deleting the videos, he also activated a voice recording application.
Doe played the audio recording and deputies could hear a female voice instructing Doe to delete videos. Deputies could then hear Bridges asking Doe if he had called the police. She said “you better leave me the f**k alone. I just shot a gun and I’m going to do it again.” More conversation ensues and Doe eventually convinces Bridges to give him the gun.
Bridges is currently being charged with assault with a weapon, partner or family member assault, and accountability for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, which is a felony.
The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.