14-Year-Old Learns Sentence for Shooting Near Great Falls McDonald’s

Last November, our sister station down the hall reported on a sad criminal case involving juveniles and firearms.

Now, we're getting some closure on the case but not without a few concerns leftover for our community to nibble on.

Looking Back at the McDonald's/Phoenix Apartment Shooting Incident

In our initial story with you, we shared that a fight broke out at a Great Falls McDonald's following an incident involving a juvenile punching a 17-year-old in the back of the head.

The fight poured out onto the street when the skirmish ended near the parking lot and Phoenix Apartments with a gunshot.

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The 17-year-old reportedly walked back into the McDonald's with a gunshot but later survived.

Juveniles Learn Their Fate in Great Falls Fight, Shooting

Thanks to extensive research done by The Electric, we now know that a 12-year-old involved was charged with tampering with evidence and was sentenced to three years in Pine Hills Correctional Facility.

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We also learned that 14-year-old Geronimo Standinghorn was also sentenced to commitment at the Montana Department of Corrections juvenile facility (Pine Hills Correctional Facility in Miles City, MT) until age 18, followed by extended juvenile probation until age 21 under extended jurisdiction prosecution provisions according to The Electric.

Is There a Gang Problem in Great Falls?

In the report of the case, there is mention of Standinghorn's "juvenile friends" who reportedly have gang affiliations.

I understand that violence can happen anywhere and it happens everywhere... but should the community be alarmed that juveniles in our community are involved with gangs where this behavior is acceptable?

READ MORE: Armed Drug Trafficker Busted Smuggling Drugs into Montana

All I'm saying is, the younger generation has to learn this or be inspired to act like this from somewhere. I'm not here to blame it on music, movies, video games, or anything like that... rather, I'm asking if there are negative influences in our community that we should pay more attention to?

Are we doing enough to combat gang activity in our community to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future?

Let us know your thoughts HERE.