Combat veteran in intensive care

A former U.S. Army soldier was shot and injured Tuesday afternoon during a confrontation with police at a home given to him three years previously by a nonprofit that builds houses for wounded veterans.

Ryan Pengelly, 30, was shot multiple times by two Kalispell police officers responding to a call about a suicidal and homicidal woman at 1:19 p.m. Tuesday at 145 Looking Glass Ave. in Kalispell. The woman told officers she had access to multiple weapons that belonged to her son.

The officers met the woman at the front door and tried to arrest her, but she resisted, according to a press release Wednesday from Kalispell Police.

Pengelly and another man then emerged from the back of the home.

Pengelly had a gun and would not put the weapon down when asked to do so, the police department said.

When he pointed the gun at them, “The two officers fired ... striking him multiple times, stopping the threat,” the press release stated.

The officers gave first aid, and both Pengelly and the woman were taken to the hospital. The woman was evaluated and released later that night.

Pengelly underwent surgery Tuesday and was in the intensive care unit at Kalispell Regional Medical Center on Wednesday.

The officers have been placed on paid administrative leave until an investigation can be completed by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said the department’s officers are equipped with audio recording and car dash cameras that might be of use in the investigation. The officers do not have body cameras.

Kalispell Police Investigations Capt. Scott Warnell said it is unknown how long the investigation might take, but that it would likely take several days.

Pengelly, who works as a driver for Glacier Taxi, is a decorated Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury from a bomb blast  in Iraq.

He also served in the Montana Army National Guard.

The home where the shooting occurred was built by the nonprofit organization Operation Finally Home in 2012 and 2013.

The project provides mortgage-free, 100 percent American-made homes to disabled veterans and veterans’ widows who are in need.

Pengelly’s home was the organization’s first project in Montana.

At the time they learned they would receive the home, Pengelly and his wife, Crystal, were overwhelmed with joy for catching a break in what had otherwise been a bad streak of luck.

Weeks after Pengelly returned home from military service in November 2011, the couple’s Whitefish home was destroyed in a fire. Everything was lost, including Pengelly’s military service medals. Pengelly’s grandmother and grandfather also had recently died.

As the emotional punches kept coming, Crystal was in and out of the hospital with lung and esophageal problems.

“This means a great deal, all the stress off our shoulders, he was only off for a month before the fire,” Crystal told the Daily Inter Lake in December 2012, when the decision to give the house to the Pengellys was announced.

At the ceremony where the couple learned they would receive the house, Ryan Pengelly also received replacement military medals through the efforts of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

The Pengellys’ three-bedroom, two-bath house on Looking Glass Avenue was valued at around $200,000.

Terry Kramer, who spearheaded the local chapter of Operation Finally Home in building the home, said Pengelly was selected because he met the criteria of a disabled veteran in need. It was the organization’s hope that Pengelly would be able to focus on getting a job and reintegrating himself into society after experiencing war.

Kramer said Wednesday that he has kept up with Pengelly but had not spoken with him recently.

Kramer’s first impression was that the house had given Pengelly some time to retool his skill set for civilian life.

“He got a job and things were going along well,” Kramer said. “If it is him [involved in the shooting] it’s probably just one of the signs of challenges that these veterans have, coming back and being fully integrated back into the community,” Kramer said.

Kramer said the local Operation Finally Home group would like to give away another house someday in the future if the right veteran comes along.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.