Man charged after allegedly shooting at friend

IDAHO FALLS – A local man was charged with two felonies after allegedly shooting at his friend.

Idaho Falls Police responded to a home in Idaho Falls on Wednesday after a call reporting a gunshot.

When officers arrived, the owner of the home told them that he had called 911 after a man, identified as Bruce Christopher Murray, 56, had shot a gun at him inside the house.

When police searched the home, they found a single spent shell casing on the floor in the kitchen, an unspent full metal jacket bullet on the floor, and a “large circular void in the linoleum flooring” which would “be consistent with being struck with a bullet from a firearm,” according to police reports.

When officers interviewed the resident of the house, he told them that Murray was a close friend and that he had come over between 6 and 7 p.m. that night with a “laundry basket full of his belongings.”

Murray told his friend that “someone was going to kill him,” and he did not want to stay at his own home. The pair then reportedly made a plan to retrieve Murray’s dog, Tinkerbell, back from Murray’s house, and left.

The friend told police that the plan was that Murray would open the front door, call for Tinkerbell and shoot the people in his home, “because he owed them money, and they wanted payment.” Court documents state that when Murray went into his home, his friend “feared what Murray was doing and left the residence out of fear.”

A little while later, Murray returned to his friend’s home, reportedly angry that his friend had left him. According to the police report, the friend stated “Murray pulled a firearm from his waistband and pointed it at (the friend’s) chest, claiming that he was going to shoot (the friend).”

The friend reportedly grabbed a knife, but was stopped by another resident of the home and put the knife away. The friend left the house and later returned, which is when Murray and the friend got into an argument and, according to the friend, Murray seemed to be “raising the firearm to shoot him.”

The friend told officers that he “attempted to push the firearm down as to not shoot him, and a gunshot was discharged by Murray,” hitting the floor. The friend then ran outside and called 911, and Murray ran away.

Murray allegedly hid the gun under a pile of leaves and pine needles and hid from police, eventually falling asleep. According to police records, officers found Murray around 11:15 a.m. on Thursday. He arrested after being found near the I-15 northbound off-ramp.

Detectives said he gave a different version of the events, including that his friend had been the one who tried to shoot him with the gun.

Murray was charged with felony aggravated assault and felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail, where a no-contact order was issued for the victim, and Murray’s bond was set at $250,000.

Though Murray has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 10. If convicted, Murray could face up to 10 years in prison.