Victim of accidental shooting dies

The Daily Inter Lake

A Hungry Horse man who accidentally shot himself in the eye with a .22-caliber rifle died Wednesday night.

Tyson Armijo, 22, was shot about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday while loading several guns into a car on First Avenue South in Hungry Horse.

According to investigators, he slipped backwards on some ice and a .22-caliber rifle went off, sending one round into his left eye.

Armijo, who was in the area picking up at least five guns from a friend's house, was with his mother when the rifle fired. She immediately called 911, sheriff's deputies said.

Armijo was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center in critical condition and placed in the intensive care unit.

He was pronounced dead at about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.

While investigating the shooting, deputies discovered that the man holding the firearms for Armijo had a warrant out of Bonner County, Idaho, for allegedly sexually abusing a minor.

Billy Don Cummings, 48, was arrested just before 7 p.m. Wednesday at the First Avenue South residence where Armijo was shot.

The Flathead County SWAT team set up a perimeter outside the home and called Cummings, who surrendered peacefully outside.

Cummings also is being held for identity theft pending allegations he was using a dead man's name to alleviate some of his debt. That charge could be prosecuted in either Flathead County or federal court, according to Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert.