Man gets 93 charges after shooting outside Fort Hall Elementary in ‘drug deal gone wrong’
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FORT HALL — A Fort Hall man has reportedly been charged in tribal court after he reportedly shot at a man multiple times and struck a local elementary school while children were inside having breakfast.
Adan Diaz has been charged with 93 misdemeanor charges in Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Court.
Some 88 of those charges are for endangering the welfare of a minor. He also received one each for unlawful possession of a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct, and striking an officer.
Diaz requested a public defender.
Each of the endangerment charges could carry up to six months’ incarceration in a tribal jail and up to $500 in fines.
EastIdahoNews.com attempted to reach out to the Fort Hall Police Department for information, but our efforts were unsuccessful. Tribal representatives could also not be reached for comment.
According to the tribal prosecutor, Byram Beckstead, Diaz and another man were in an argument at a home behind Fort Hall Elementary School on Wednesday when Diaz reportedly shot at the man four to five times. It is not clear if the man was injured by the gunshots.
The home is directly behind the school, and, according to the prosecutor in court, one bullet from Diaz’s gun reportedly struck the playground equipment at the school, and another struck one of the school buildings. Only the last bullet was retrieved, according to Beckstead.
This occurred at around 7:59 a.m. while 88 students were reportedly in the gym having breakfast.
Beckstead claimed during court that the shots were heard in the kitchen at the school, causing the school to go into lockdown.
Blackfoot School District 55 Superintendent Brian Kress confirmed the incident was not a school shooting, but happened nearby.
“There was no school shooting at Fort Hall Elementary,” Kress said. “The school took precautions, and parents were notified at the advice of law enforcement.”
EastIdahoNews.com also reached out to the FBI, which investigates major crimes in Indian Country. They confirmed they are investigating the incident as a federal crime regarding a “drug deal gone wrong,” but they have not yet filed any charges.
FBI Executive Management Assistant Alisha Moreira tells EastIdahoNews.com that they are looking at two suspects, but could not give any further details.
Diaz will be held in the tribal jail until his pre-trial hearing on Jan. 11.
Though Diaz has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.