A 21-year-old man was arrested on Feb. 20 in connection with the early morning shooting and police presence.

Peyton Arthur Vaughn was arrested and charged with one felony count of assault with a weapon and has been booked in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center.

GFPD said they are not seeking any other suspects and the scenes are now clear of law enforcement personnel.

Around 1 a.m. Feb, 20, a call came into the 911 dispatch center that a man had been shot at a business in the 1900 block of 10th Avenue South.

The Great Falls Police Department, Great Falls Fire Rescue and Great Falls Emergency Services were dispatched.

At the scene, GFPD officers located the 24-year-old male gunshot victim. He was transported to the Benefis Health System Emergency Department and is in stable condition this afternoon, according to GFPD.

The victim was is a Great Falls resident who was an employee of the business and working at the time the shooting.

It was reported to investigators that a group of drive-through customers were refused service for being unruly with staff.

The victim knew the group and was attempting to address their concerns outside in the parking lot when he was shot, according to GFPD.

The investigation took GFPD to a residence in the 1600 block of 9th Avenue South, where the GFPD high risk unit responded and made contact with several people inside the house. HRU, comprised of GFPD officers and Cascade County Sheriff’s Office deputies, executed a search warrant on the home, using distraction devices and chemical irritants as they cleared the house, according to GFPD.

Around 7 a.m., officers were at the residence and by 9:20 a.m., GFPD said they had someone in custody and the scene had mostly been cleared but a few officers were there wrapping up.

Some other media outlets reported that multiple people were in custody.

GFPD said that was not correct.

Lt. Doug Mahlum said that at one point four people were detained for questioning, but not arrested or criminally charged.

He said that once they determined probable cause for the assault with a weapon charge, one was arrested and everyone else was released.

Jenn Rowell

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