The 2003 Ennis shooting occurred on June 14, 2003, when 44-year-old George Harold Davis opened fire on a group of people outside a bar in downtown

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, in

Madison County, Montana Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,623. Its county seat is Virginia City. The county was founded in 1865; at the time it was part of the Montana Territory. Geography According ...

, then engaged police officers in a high-speed chase and

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

. Davis killed one man and injured six other bystanders at the bar. He was then chased by a sheriff's deputy and

highway patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

officer. The chase terminated on the

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

state border. Davis was arrested and sentenced to eleven life terms, the longest prison sentence in Montana state history. The chase and shootout were captured on

dashboard camera A dashboard camera or simply dashcam, also known as car digital video recorder (car DVR), driving recorder, or event data recorder (EDR), is an onboard camera that continuously records the view through a vehicle's front windscreen and sometim ...

s installed within the two pursuing patrol vehicles.

Events

Mass shooting

In the early hours of the morning, around 2:00 a.m., on Saturday, June 14, 2003, 44-year-old George Harold Davis drank alone at the Silver Dollar Saloon bar, on Main Street in Ennis, Madison County, Montana. After buying multiple alcoholic beverages and getting heavily intoxicated, Davis got more and more frustrated and was unable to pay for the drinks. Another patron, Michael Carroll, paid Davis' tab, hoping he would leave. Davis left the bar and walked over to his car, a gold

Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from 1985 to 2019. From 1985 to 2009, Ford marketed the Taurus alongside its rebadged variant, the Mercury Sable. Four generati ...

, which was parked just outside. He retrieved a .45 semi-automatic pistol from the vehicle and then opened fire on people outside the bar. He seriously injured six people (including Carroll) and fatally shot 27-year-old Jamie Roberts. After the shooting, Davis fled the scene in his car and drove for nearly two-hundred miles toward

Ravalli County, Montana Ravalli County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,174. Its county seat is Hamilton. Ravalli County is part of a north–south mountain valley bordered by the Sapphi ...

Police chase and shootout

At around 8:00 a.m. Ravalli County Sheriff Deputy Bernie Allestad spotted Davis speeding on

U.S. Highway 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south U.S. Numbered Highway in the western United States, that connects U.S. Route 60 (US 60) in Wickenburg, Arizona, with British Columbia Highway 93 at the Canadian border (north of E ...

. Allestad pulled over Davis, who immediately leaped out of his vehicle and opened fire on Allestad. Allestad returned fire but was shot in the shoulder and became badly wounded. Davis was also hit in the abdomen during the brief shootout, but he managed to escape and speed away. Davis then entered

Missoula County, Montana Missoula County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state, state of Montana. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 117,922, making it Montana's List of counties in Montana, third most populous ...

, where he encountered Missoula County sheriff deputy David Conway and tried to run him off the road in a

head-on collision A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision. Rail trans ...

. Conway dodged the collision and chased after Davis. Montana Highway Patrol officer Jason Hildenstab also joined in the pursuit. Hildenstab took the lead and chased after Davis at speeds of one-hundred miles an hour. Davis proceeded to head towards the

border in an attempt to lose the police. Hildenstab was driving on fumes as he had not had time to fill up with gas for the day when he was called to respond. As Hildenstab approached Davis' car to potentially ram him, Davis slammed on his brakes and Hildenstab rear-ended the vehicle. Davis spun his vehicle around, exited his car, crouched behind his rear bumper and opened fire on Hildenstab with his .45 semi-automatic pistol. Hildenstab returned fire behind the rear of his patrol vehicle and avoided being hit from the gunfire. Conway then arrived and opened fire with a

12-gauge shotgun The gauge (in American English or more commonly referred to as bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) and other necessary parameters to define in general a smoothbore barre ...

. Upon Conway's arrival, Davis fled the scene. Hildenstab's patrol vehicle became disabled and began releasing smoke, as it had been badly shot up by Davis during the shootout. Hildenstab abandoned his wrecked car and both he and Conway chased after Davis in Conway's patrol vehicle. Conway and Hildenstab pursued Davis westbound along U.S. Highway 12 towards the Idaho border.

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

veteran and 25-year veteran Idaho state trooper Stan Wiggins Sr., who was accompanied by a

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician/technologist, game warden, park ranger, forest watcher, forest guar ...

, was then informed by Conway to set up

spike strip A spike strip (also referred to as a spike belt, road spikes, traffic spikes, tire shredders, stingers, stop sticks, by the trademark Stinger or formally known as a Tire Deflation Device or TDD) is a device or incident weapon used to impede or s ...

s on the highway to stop Davis from escaping. Wiggins carried out the instruction and Davis drove directly over the spike strips. His vehicle came to a stop and Davis opened the door of his car. As he did, Conway accelerated his patrol vehicle towards Davis. Davis opened fire at the patrol vehicle as it approached him. Conway charged his vehicle at Davis at sixty-miles an hour and rammed into the side of the car. Davis was injured and lost his handgun during the collision and Hildenstab broke his leg. Both Conway and Hildenstab survived, as did Davis. Davis was arrested by Conway, Wiggins and the game warden, who rushed over to his car after the crash. Davis was too wounded to resist arrest. When he was in custody, he casually asked Conway, "Did you guys have fun?", referring to the chase and gunfight. Conway replied, "Was it fun to you?" and Davis just stated it was "a rush." As he was led to the police car, he said that he wished the officers had killed him in the crash.

Victims

Jamie L. Roberts, a 27-year-old construction worker of Ennis, was the only fatality of Davis's shooting spree. Six other bystanders were injured outside the bar in Ennis. All of the casualties were out of the hospital by July 3, 2003. *Ginger Powers – Shot twice through the stomach. *Michael Carroll – Shot in his pancreas. *Matt Ortega – Hit by a bullet in his spleen. *Isaiah Crowley – Shot four times in the attack. *Tret Sutter – Shot through the right thigh. *Gavin Faulkner – Suffered gunshot wounds to a hand and right leg.

Perpetrator

George Harold Davis (born June 20, 1958) was identified as the man responsible for the shooting rampage in Ennis. He was a proponent of

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

and

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. He was also a trained killer and a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

, who had served as a mercenary in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Davis was born in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

, and moved to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in the early 1990s. Prior to the shooting, Davis had only recently moved to the Ennis area from Washington. At the time of his shooting spree in Ennis, Davis worked as a ranch hand on a nearby ranch. Davis had also worked as a carpet installer in Washington throughout the 1990s. Davis had a prior criminal history on record. Between 1994 and 1997, Davis received four separate restraining orders in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, including one for harassing a staff member of

The Olympian ''The Olympian'' is a daily newspaper based in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and publishes a daily printed edition. History Olympia was home to the first newspaper to be published in modern-da ...

. He reportedly wrote a letter to an Olympian reporter, saying the newspaper was a "criminal organization which was psychologically controlled by the Jews" and that "only white supremacism can save nature's finest." Davis also sent them a newsletter from the

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

group,

National Alliance National Alliance may refer to: Electoral alliances *National Alliance (Egypt) (2015) * National Alliance (Ireland) (2024 onwards) * National Alliance (Pakistan) (2002-2004) *Nation Alliance (Turkey) (2018-2023) Political parties and organizations ...

, which said, "We must halt the flow of Third World immigrants across our borders, and we must take whatever other steps are necessary to reclaim our cities from the hordes of non-Whites who have invaded them during the past 50 years." A woman from the Washington area with whom Davis had tried to start a relationship claimed to have received neo-Nazi literature from him at her work and home address. She also got a restraining order against Davis at the time.

Aftermath

Davis was arrested and sentenced to eleven life terms, the longest prison sentence in Montana state history. He will never be released from prison and is not eligible for parole. The reason for his rampage remains unclear. One possibility is because of a sudden medication withdrawal. Davis said he abruptly stopped taking the antidepressant drug

Paxil Paroxetine ( ), sold under the brand name Paxil among others, is an antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), panic di ...

in the days leading up to the shooting. His defense attorney Ed Sheehy Jr. argued that heavy drinking and withdrawals from the drug led to the initial shooting. But prosecutors argued that Davis was unrepentant for his crimes and was simply looking for excuses for his actions. Madison County Attorney Bob Zenker described Davis as evil, a racist, and a cop hater. He argued that Davis could not blame his crimes on medication and alcohol. Davis had no clear answer to why he carried out the rampage and claimed that he could not recall any of his actions on that specific day. He is currently imprisoned in

Montana State Prison The Montana State Prison is a men's correctional facility of the Montana Department of Corrections in unincorporated Powell County, Montana, about west of Deer Lodge. The current facility was constructed between 1974 and 1979 in response to t ...

. The chase and shootout with Davis was recorded by dashboard cameras installed within Conway and Hildenstab's patrol vehicles. The footage has been widely reported in the media and has been shown on many television documentaries, including: ''

World's Most Amazing Videos ''World's Most Amazing Videos'' is an American reality television series that ran on NBC from March 3, 1999, until 2001, as a filler program when other shows were cancelled and later revived on Spike TV from 2006 until 2008. The show showcases ...

'', ''Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol'', ''

Hot Pursuit Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by peace officer, law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situa ...

'', ''Police In Pursuits'', ''

World's Wildest Police Videos ''World's Wildest Police Videos'' (shortened to ''Police Videos'' during its fourth season) is an American reality television series that ran on Fox from 1998 to 2001. In 2012, Spike announced that it had commissioned 13 new episodes with the ...

'', ''

16×9 ''16×9'' (formerly branded as ''16:9'' and ''16:9: The Bigger Picture'') is a Canadian investigative newsmagazine television program created by Troy Reeb and Mary Garofalo that aired on Global for eight seasons. The series debuted on November 3 ...

'' and ''Under Fire''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ennis shooting, 2003 2003 deaths 2003 in Montana 2003 mass shootings in the United States 2003 murders in the United States Attacks in the United States in 2003 Attacks on bars in the United States Crime in Montana Deaths by firearm in Montana June 2003 crimes in the United States Madison County, Montana Mass shootings in Montana Mass shootings in the United States Murder in Montana People murdered in Montana Spree shootings in the United States