Montana Man Arrested After Flagstaff Hotel Shooting

Police were called to the Hotel Aspen Inn on Route 66 in Flagstaff at about 11:20 p.m. on October 31 after reports of gunfire. Officers said a man fired several shots from a second-floor balcony toward a group in the parking lot.

The first officer to arrive heard a gunshot and saw a man holding a handgun on the balcony. After the officer ordered him to put the weapon down, he complied. Additional officers arrived, and police took him into custody.

Police identified the man as James Joseph Hansen, 45, of Belgrade, Montana. The people in the parking lot told investigators they did not know Hansen and had not had prior contact with him. No one was reported injured.

Authorities placed Hansen in the county detention facility; recommended allegations included armed aggravated assault, endangerment, firing a gun inside Flagstaff's boundaries, and disorderly behavior involving a weapon.