Woman shoots husband, then herself

Members of the Flathead County Sheriff's Office investigate the scene of a shooting Friday night at 425 Valley View Drive near Kalispell. One person died and one was wounded. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)

A woman who lives where two people were shot talks on the phone Friday evening as law officers investigate the incident southwest of Kalispell. A Missoula woman shot and injured her estranged husband from Kalispell, then shot and killed herself. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)

Residents of the house were a double shooting took place talk as police investigate the scene southwest of Kalispell on Friday evening. A Missoula woman shot and injured her estranged husband from Kalispell, then shot and killed herself. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)

by Brianna Loper
| March 14, 2015 2:54 PM

A domestic dispute near Kalispell turned deadly Friday when a Missoula woman shot her estranged husband and then killed herself.

Sejia Herbert, 30, died at Kalispell Regional Medical Center Friday night from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to her temple.

She shot her husband Russell Herbert, 35. He is expected to recover from a single gunshot wound “slightly above his groin,” according to Sheriff Chuck Curry.

The drama began to unfold Friday afternoon when Sejia Herbert arrived at 425 Valley View Drive southwest of Kalispell, where Russell Herbert lives. The couple are married but estranged and are the parents of two small children, ages 5 and 7, who were in the home when the altercation occurred.

She began arguing with him, according to a news release from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

During the altercation, Sejia Herbert fired multiple rounds from a pistol at Russell Herbert, hitting him once in the lower abdomen.

The shooting was “not accidental,” according to Flathead County Undersheriff Dave Leib.

Russell Herbert was able to escape and run to the apartment next door, where he asked that 911 be called, according to the press release. He then met his wife in the driveway, where the two struggled over the gun.

During the struggle, Sejia Herbert suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Evidence at the scene as well as witness statements indicated the wound was self-inflicted.

Both Herberts were taken by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Russell Herbert was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital Saturday afternoon, Leib said.

The cause of the couple’s argument is unclear, according to the Sheriff’s Office

The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. Sejia Herbert’s body was taken to Missoula, where an autopsy is scheduled Monday at the Montana State Crime Lab.