On August 18, 2016, 20-year-old Blake Hettick was at a residence on Kensington Street in Missoula when he sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen. The shooting was initially reported as accidental; the Missoula Police Department and Missoula County Coroner investigated the circumstances surrounding his death.

Born in Missoula on December 9, 1995, Hettick graduated from Hellgate High School in 2014. Friends and family remembered him as loving and kind-hearted, with a passion for the outdoors, hunting, mountain cruises and mudding, an interest in reptiles and spiders, and a hobby restoring his car.

Authorities later viewed the incident differently. The Missoula County Attorney’s Office charged Brock Dodson, who was present when the firearm discharged, with negligent homicide. Court proceedings found Dodson guilty and imposed a period of incarceration for his role in Hettick’s death.

If anyone knew Blake or was in the Kensington Street area that night, can you share what you remember?