Ferndale man in custody after deadly shooting

Authorities are holding a 49-year-old Bigfork area man in the Lake County jail on pending felony deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide charges after he allegedly shot three people at a Ferndale home Sunday night, killing one.

Matthew Vitek was arrested by Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies at a Cayuse Lane home in Ferndale after Lake County dispatch received a call at about 9:08 p.m. Dec. 10, reporting a disturbance involving a man with a firearm, according to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office news release.

A short time later, dispatch received a second call from another person reporting that they had been shot by the suspect.

Flathead County deputies were first on scene and identified Vitek as the alleged shooter. They took him into custody shortly before 10 p.m. Deputies rendered first aid to the three gunshot victims prior to the arrival of emergency medical services.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded to the scene.

“These were all people that were living together and something got out of hand. This was not a random shooting,” Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said. “It sounds like there were relationships between these individuals. I would call this a domestic disturbance that escalated.”

According to Heino, two of the victims were in critical condition and one serious as they were transported from the scene to Logan Health Medical Center, where 56-year-old Tammi Jordan of Bigfork succumbed to her wounds. Her body has since been taken to the Montana Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy.

The press release stated the other two victims were in stable condition as of 2 a.m. Monday. Authorities have not identified them.

The incident remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.