Man sought in gunfight jailed in Washington

The suspect in a shooting incident a week ago west of Kalispell is in custody in Washington state.

David Michael Palumbo, 23, of Evans, Wash., will be held in Stevens County Detention Center pending a warrant out of Flathead County for attempted deliberate homicide.

Palumbo is wanted for the shooting of Bryan Schloss, 26, of Kalispell during a gun battle inside a vehicle west of Kalispell.

Palumbo turned himself in Thursday evening for violating his parole by leaving Washington state.

A warrant has been issued and he is expected to be extradited to Flathead County soon.

Around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, a gunfight reportedly broke out between Schloss and Palumbo inside a car belonging to Bo Hanger, 27, of Whitefish.

Palumbo allegedly shot Schloss four times, in the jaw and abdomen, with a .40-caliber handgun as Schloss allegedly fired back with a 9-mm pistol.

Schloss remains in intensive care at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in stable but improving condition.

Palumbo has not reported any injuries.

Authorities at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office speculate Hanger and Schloss, who are friends, picked up Palumbo in Hanger’s light blue Honda CR-V on Saturday afternoon. While driving along Springcreek Road, the scene inside the car somehow turned volatile.

“We don’t know exactly what happened in the car, but we believe it was an attempted robbery that went wrong,” said Flathead County Detective Commander Jeanne Landis, who speculated the incident was drug-related.

Smeared blood and bullet holes riddled the interior of the car. Several casings from a .40-caliber handgun were littered inside, and Flathead County Search and Rescue found the 9-mm pistol in a ditch in the West Springcreek Road area where the incident occurred. The .40 caliber weapon has not been located.

No narcotics were found in the car during the search, but drug involvement is suspected because of “initial statements made by initial parties,” according to Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan, who declined to comment further.

After shots were fired, Palumbo apparently fled and Hanger apparently dropped Schloss off at the Kalispell Regional Medical Center and drove away. Hanger later was arrested by Whitefish police.

Hanger has been charged with robbery and has been released from the Flathead County Jail on house arrest.

Schloss has not yet been charged.

Reporter Melissa Weaver may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at mweaver@dailyinterlake.com