Background: Echeta Road in Gillette, Wyo., where the shooting took place (Google Maps). Inset: Mug shot of Kamren Crousore from a previous arrest (Campbell County Sheriff”s Office).
A teenager from Wyoming admitted to a shooting incident involving another teen who arrived at his residence armed with a stolen gun, intending to resolve a dispute.
Nineteen-year-old Kamren Crousore confessed to attempted manslaughter in a court hearing on Monday relating to a March shooting in Gillette, Wyoming. This plea deal led to the dismissal of charges including attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and a firearm enhancement.
According to court records reviewed by the Gillette News Record, Crousore shot a peer of the same age in the abdomen when the latter went to face him.
Police reports indicate that on March 4, the victim’s mother alerted authorities, claiming her son had been shot at Crousore’s residence. Another woman reported to the police that the victim requested a ride to Crousore’s home to settle a dispute. She remained in her vehicle as the victim entered the house.
Moments after Crousore welcomed the victim inside, she heard three gunshots. The victim then dashed out of the house, wounded in the stomach, and urgently informed her of his need for medical assistance.
When deputies from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, they conducted a search and discovered a semiautomatic 9 mm Walther CCP with a distinctive purple frame. The victim’s mother had previously reported that her two firearms, including one matching this description, were stolen.
The woman who drove the victim told police that he said he planned to sell both of his mother’s guns.
On March 5, police interviewed a witness to the shooting, who said he was with the victim and Crousore on the morning of March 4. After Crousore used meth, he started arguing with the victim. According to the witness, the victim told Crousore that he wanted to fight one of Crousore’s friends, saying he could “take on anyone.” Crousore became upset and asked the victim to leave, but the victim refused until he could take his mother’s guns back.
The argument between Crousore and the victim escalated and turned into a physical fight. The witness said that the victim “body-slammed” Crousore and hit him in the face. When the victim still refused to leave without the guns, Crousore got his hands on the purple firearm, loaded it, and pointed it at the victim’s face, telling him, “Get the f— out.” The two boys stared each other down before Crousore eventually pistol-whipped the victim.
The victim fought back, and Crousore aimed the gun at him and fired three times. Crousore missed twice, but shot the victim once in the stomach. The witness said Crousore became upset after the shooting, saying, “What did I just do, I can’t believe I just did that, what am I going to do?”
Crousore then placed the purple gun in a vent, called another person for a ride, and went on the run. Sheriff’s deputies responded to Crousore’s home on March 8 after someone reported seeing someone who resembled Crousore “peeking” out of the window. After people in the home denied that Crousore was there, the deputies found him hiding behind a rack of clothes in a bedroom closet. He was arrested without incident.
Crousore’s sentencing date was not shared publicly.
