Ferndale shooting under investigation

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting in Ferndale early Wednesday that left a 23-year-old woman near death.

Dispatchers received a call at about 12:30 a.m. from a man who said the woman had shot herself in the throat.

Officers are taking a close look at the shooting.

The Ferndale Fire Department responded to the home, 1385 Montana 209.

The woman was flown by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she was said to be on life support Wednesday afternoon.

Detective Cmdr. Bruce Parish of the Sheriff's Office said a bullet fired from a .22-caliber rifle pierced an area below the woman's chin, ricocheted off a vertebra in her neck and traveled up inside her skull.

Two men were in the house at the time of the shooting, including the one who called for help.