Three Blue Bay residents hospitalized after shooting

Three Blue Bay residents were hospitalized after allegedly being shot at their home last Friday.

Aaron Christopher Dodge, 45, of Blue Bay, is in custody after he allegedly shot three family members at their home April 17.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies were alerted to the incident at about 1 p.m. after a woman, who was driving herself and two family members to the hospital, called emergency dispatchers to tell them she was driving toward St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said.

During her first emergency dispatch call, the woman said she had been shot accidentally. The woman called back to inform the sheriff’s office the shooting was intentional and who shot her, Bell said.

Deputies responded to the hospital and to the home where the shooting occurred.

When deputies arrived at the home, Dodge was gone, Bell said.

Deputies secured the house, applied for a search warrant and began looking for the car they believed Dodge was driving, Bell said. Deputies found the car in an orchard but it was unoccupied at the time of discovery, Bell said.

At around 7:30 p.m., as deputies kept watch at the suspect’s home, they saw Dodge attempting to return home, Bell said.

After a short chase on foot, Dodge was apprehended and taken into custody, Bell said.

Dodge was arrested on one count of felony partner or family member assault causing serious bodily injury and three counts of felony assault with a weapon. He is in custody at Lake County Detention Center in Polson.

The three injured family members, two of whom are adults and one is a juvenile, were treated at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson. Two family members were released and one family member continues to be hospitalized while recovering from surgery, Bell said.