Boy, 10, charged in shooting

The Flathead County Attorney's Office has filed charges against a 10-year-old boy implicated in the June shooting of a Columbia Falls girl.

Devon Noah Brown of Marion was charged Thursday with one count of criminal endangerment, a felony.

The charges were filed in Flathead County Youth Court under statutes governing juvenile offenses. Brown's age precludes his being charged as an adult.

According to court records, Brown has admitted to the shooting, but told investigators it was an accident.

Prosecutors allege that Brown was firing a .22-caliber rifle outside a Lower Lost Prairie Road home on June 8 when a gunshot hit Kayla Oswald, now 8, in the stomach.

Oswald suffered serious and potentially permanent injuries to her pancreas, stomach, and liver - only returning home from a Seattle hospital in early July.

Brown and his older brother, reportedly the sons of a close friend of the Oswalds, were playing with a bolt-action Savage Mark II .22-caliber rifle when the shooting occurred. Adults were not present.

Brown, then 9, initially told investigators he was shooting at a tree and Oswald had been hit by a ricochet. He later said the gun was pointed in Oswald's direction but it went off accidentally.

After taking three shots at a golf ball on the ground, Brown allegedly turned around and looked in Oswald's direction. His finger was on the trigger and the rifle went off.

Brown told investigators he was going to put the rifle away.

Oswald reportedly was picking flowers, less than 30 feet from Brown, when she was hit. The bullet went through her left arm, just above her wrist, and into her stomach.

Oswald first was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel after losing six pints of blood. Doctors at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle told family members the surgery saved the girl's life until she could be flown to their hospital.

Brown reportedly had a working knowledge of the rifle and had shot it with his father in the past.

If convicted, Brown could be placed under Youth Court supervision until he turns 18 or, if deemed appropriate by Youth Court officials, until he turns 25. During that time, Youth Court officials have several placement options, including probation or incarceration in a youth home.

Brown's adjudicatory hearing, where he will enter a plea to the charge filed against him, is scheduled Aug. 29 in Flathead County District Court.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com