Transient man charged with murder in gym shooting
Law enforcement stand at the scene of a shooting outside Fuel Fitness in Kalispell on Thursday, Sept. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A Kalispell man has been charged with murder in alleged shooting death of the manager of Fuel Fitness in Kalispell nearly two weeks ago.
According to court documents, Jonathan Douglas Shaw, 36, is facing one charge of deliberate homicide and one charge of attempted deliberate homicide.
Charging documents indicate when officers from the Kalispell Police Department arrived at Fuel Fitness on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 16, they found Matthew Hurley in a red shirt lying in the parking lot. An officer also saw another man lying face down on the ground. He was identified as Shaw and as he got to his knees, the officer could see a handgun on the ground in front of the accused man.
Another officer determined Hurley had been struck by multiple rounds. He was declared dead at the scene.
A third Kalispell police officer spoke with Matthew Underhill, an assistant manager at Fuel Fitness. Underhill said he and Hurley went to the parking lot to speak with Shaw, who had been living in the lot.
The three spoke about a refund of Shaw’s gym membership and when Hurley told Shaw he would receive a partial refund of his fee, Shaw allegedly said, “Well, you are going to die” and started shooting at Hurley.
Underhill said he ran toward the gym and told William Keck what happened.
A Kalispell detective talked to Keck, who told him he was in the gym and when he came out he heard what sounded like firecrackers popping and saw Underhill sprinting. When Underhill told Keck that Hurley had been shot, Keck ran to his vehicle and grabbed his pistol.
Keck saw Hurley on the ground and Shaw was getting into a truck by a trailer. Keck said he told Shaw to get out and when the door opened he said “two rounds came right at me.”
Keck said he returned fire. He also said he realized he had been hit in the leg and ran back inside the gym.
Shaw remains in Logan Health Kalispell while being treated for gunshot wounds he received when Keck stopped the attack.
Shaw could face the death penalty or a maximum term of 100 years in the Montana State Prison.
Shaw’s bail was set at $1 million. His arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28.
Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.