Two Gun Incidents in 10 Days Spark Debate Over Crime, Transparency in Missoula

MISSOULA — A 27-year-old man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his leg after a shooting near the intersection of Ryman Street and West Broadway around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, marking the second gun-related incident in downtown Missoula within 10 days, according to the Missoula Police Department^1.

The Missoula Police Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory for residents in a two-block radius while officers secured the scene, temporarily closing the 100 block of West Main Street and recovering a firearm.

One suspect has been detained, and police recovered one firearm, according to Officer Whitney Bennett of the Missoula Police Department. Authorities are still working to locate individuals involved in the shooting.

Earlier downtown gun incident

The Tuesday shooting follows a Nov. 15 gun brandishing incident at Pie Hole, a restaurant on North Higgins Avenue.

On Nov. 15, Missoula Police Department officers were dispatched to Pie Hole for a report of intimidation after a 911 call reported a male in a black truck had pulled a pistol on people, according to KGVO reporting^2.

Witnesses told police that 29-year-old Robert Zawlocki was involved in a disturbance outside the restaurant on the sidewalk before walking across Higgins Avenue to where his black truck was parked, according to KGVO.

According to the report, Zawlocki then pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at two women and the crowd of people inside the Pie Hole.

Public information concerns

In a blog post^3 about Tuesday’s shooting, Missoula citizen-journalist Travis Mateer criticized how officials handle information about downtown crime incidents.

Mateer noted a change in Missoula County’s booking photo policy. Missoula County stopped posting all booking photos on the public jail roster as of Nov. 1, 2024, after the Missoula County Detention Facility received unconfirmed reports of requests to exchange money to remove booking photos from the internet, according to NBC Montana^4.

The policy change followed Montana legislation signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in April 2021 that requires law enforcement to charge $100 to release a mugshot before a conviction^5. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brandon Ler, targeted the problem of websites charging people to remove their mugshots from the internet.

Similar restrictions on mugshot release have been adopted across the country in both conservative and progressive states. Supporters of unrestricted public access argue it is needed for public safety, government transparency and holding law enforcement accountable. Critics of mugshot policies argue that publicly posting booking photos before conviction violates the presumption of innocence and can cause lasting reputational harm to people who are never charged or are later found not guilty.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jeannette Smith said in a press release that “after reviewing the justification for posting all photos, it was decided that there was no justification to continue to post booking photos on the roster and that removing them was more in line with recent changes to Montana state law.”

In a screenshot Mateer shared from his social media post about the KGVO coverage, he wrote: “It’s so nice to protect all these people with initials and no mugshots, as per the Missoula County Sheriff’s policy instituted last Nov.”

“What does this mean for public safety?” Mateer wrote. “If the public remains largely ignorant of street violence, tonight’s shooting won’t mean anything, and that will be good for those who understand how much is riding on the major development coming to save the lagging Missoula tax base from deficits and TIF remittances.”

The Missoula Police Department is asking witnesses or anyone with video surveillance from the area to contact them at 406-552-6300.