Woman hospitalized after drunk man allegedly fires gun in house

Alleged drunken gunplay over the holiday weekend left one Flathead County man in cuffs and a local woman hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

George Paul Herne, 19, faces a single felony count of criminal endangerment after allegedly firing off a round in a Bison Drive home in the early morning of July 4. The errant round struck a sleeping woman on the floor above, sending her to Logan Health Medical Center, court documents said.

Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the home after receiving a 3:55 a.m. report of a gunshot victim at the emergency room. During an interview, the victim told investigators that she was in bed with her young daughter when a loud pop woke her up.

Though she initially thought a mattress spring broke and struck her, she felt pain and wetness, court documents said. She later learned she had suffered a gunshot wound.

Meanwhile, investigators at the home found a bullet hole in the floor and determined the round went through the victim’s mattress.

A witness in the house at the time of the shooting recounted bringing Herne back to the home that night. He was drunk, the witness said, and she picked him up. After arriving, he sat on the couch in the basement living room and allegedly pulled out a gun. He soon began playing with it, court documents said.

The witness told authorities she asked him to put the gun down. Instead, he pointed it toward the ceiling and pulled the trigger, court documents said.

If convicted, Herne could spend up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and pay a maximum fine of $50,000. He has an arraignment scheduled in Flathead County District Court on July 28.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.