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 Wyoming teenager took responsibility for shooting another teen who went to his house with a stolen handgun to “settle some beef.”
Kamren Crousore, 19, pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter on Monday in connection with a shooting that took place in Gillette, Wyoming, in March. As part of his plea agreement, additional charges of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and a firearm enhancement were dropped.
According to court documents obtained by local news outlet the Gillette News Record, Crousore shot another 19-year-old boy in the stomach when the victim went to confront him.
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Police said that on March 4, officers responded to a call from the victim’s mother, who said that her son had been shot that day at Crousore’s home. Another woman also spoke to police and said that the victim had asked her for a ride to Crousore’s house that day so he could “settle some beef.” She drove the victim to the home in Gillette and waited in the car while the victim went inside.
Not long after she saw Crousore let the victim in, she heard three gunshots come from the house. The victim came running out of the home with a gunshot wound to the stomach and told the woman that he needed to go to the hospital.
When deputies from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office arrived at Crousore’s home, they executed a search warrant and found a semiautomatic 9 mm Walther CCP handgun with a purple frame. The victim’s mother told police that she owned a gun matching that description, along with a second gun, and both weapons had been 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.
