Montana Woman Opens Fire At Hotel While Under The Influence of Meth

A 40-year-old woman in Chubbuck Montana faces several felony charges after she discharged a revolver into the front desk of a Chubbuck hotel and threatened to shoot at least three people.

The woman was identified as Rebecca Lynn O’Connell from Melrose, Montana.

O’Connell has been charged with the following:

• Three counts of aggravated assault
• One count of discharging a firearm at an occupied building
• One misdemeanor charge of malicious injury to property

It all started at a Travelodge by Wyndham Pocatello on Burnside Avenue. O’Connell called the police and reported she has shot herself in the hand. She said that she was still armed with the firearm and would shoot anyone who came near her.

When officers arrived at the hotel they saw an employee behind the front desk with his hands above his head. O'Connell was armed with a.357 Magnum revolver, pacing back and forth inside the lobby.

More officers were outside of the hotel armed with rifles and carrying ballistic shields. O’Connell eventually exited the front lobby of the hotel.

O’Connell was then ordered by police to drop the revolver and lie face down on the ground, which she did, authorities said.

She was put in handcuffs and placed in the patrol vehicle. At this time O'Connell's boyfriend, Challis Bloxham, approached police while yelling.

Officers detained Bloxham and searched him, locating in his coat pocket a speed loader and bullets for a .38 Special Revolver, police said.

After interviewing O'Connell, she admitted to using methamphetamine about 12 hours beforehand. Her story was that her boyfriend was attempting to kill her and that the front desk employee of the hotel provided them with towels that contained chloroform.

O’Connell said Bloxham was going to kill her by putting the chloroform-laced towel over her mouth. Police found absolutely no evidence to support any of O'Connell's claims.

Police added that they later found evidence of a bullet hole in the front desk.

When Emergency Medical Personnel checked O'Connell's hand they determined she was not shot, she had superficial cuts on her hand.

Inside the hotel room that O'Connell and Bloxham were sharing, officers located a rifle and drug paraphernalia.

O’Connell was subsequently charged and booked into the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

Read More Here: Idaho State Journal

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