Man’s ‘instinct’ led him to shoot Montana neighbor in the neck with crossbow, feds say

Threats about a dog led a Montana man to shoot his neighbor in the neck with a crossbow, federal officials reported.

Alonzo Gene Skunkcap, 22, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the October incident in Browning on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana said in a Jan. 10 news release.

McClatchy News reached out to his attorney for comment on Jan. 11 but did not immediately receive a response.

Skunkcap told a neighbor working on his vehicle in his driveway that he would shoot his dog, prosecutors said. The neighbor replied that he’d shoot Skunkcap if he harmed his dog, according to the release.

Skunkcap grabbed a crossbow from his home and shot the neighbor in the neck, prosecutors said. He ran back into his house to wait for the police, officials said.

He told officers he was scared, didn’t know how to deal with threats and acted on “instinct,” prosecutors said.

The neighbor removed the crossbow bolt from his neck himself and sought medical attention for two puncture wounds, but was not seriously hurt, prosecutors said.

Skunkcap is scheduled to be sentenced in May, when he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Man’s ‘instinct’ led him to shoot Montana neighbor in the neck with crossbow, feds say."