LAPWAI, ID – The Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman is dead and a man injured following a shooting Friday evening in Lapwai.
Deputies were dispatched at about 5:24 p.m. to a residence in the 1100 block of Thunder Hill Road after a resident reported two people, a male and a female, had been at their home and may have broken into a shed. While deputies were en route, the caller reported her fiancé had shot the two subjects.
A Nez Perce Tribal Police officer arrived first and detained the shooter, identified as 30-year-old Christian Forslof, without incident. At the scene, a male and a female had sustained gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. The female victim was pronounced dead, while the male victim was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.
Investigators determined Forslof believed the two had entered a shed on his property. After they left, Forslof pursued them about a quarter of a mile from his residence and attempted to detain them at gunpoint. Neither victim was armed.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a verbal altercation occurred when Forslof confronted the pair. Forslof fired several rounds after the female victim pointed her finger at him and walked toward him aggressively.
Forslof was arrested on one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. He is being held at the Nez Perce County Adult Detention Center.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of family.
The case remains under investigation by the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lt. Jason Leavitt or Detective Wendy King at 208-799-3130.
