A Kalispell teenager has been accused of beating to death Scott Bryan, a 60-year-old homeless man. Unhoused Flathead residents and shelter operators say the alleged murder is just the latest in a string of assaults against homeless people. The increasing violence in northwest Montana is part of a growing statewide and national trend.
Nineteen-year-old Kaleb Fleck allegedly beat Scott Bryan to death in a Kalispell gas station parking lot early Sunday morning. Charges were filed by the Flathead County attorney’s office. Documents say Kalispell Police found Bryan bleeding profusely as he laid face down on the cement with exposed facial bones.
Court documents say witnesses shared a video filmed by another local teen that was with Fleck. MTPR has independently obtained a copy of that video. It appears to show Fleck bragging about the assault before the camera pans to a man lying motionless on the concrete. Police also say they found boots with apparent blood stains on them inside Fleck’s home.
Bryan was rushed to the hospital where he later died. Fleck has been charged with deliberate homicide.
The local homeless community has been shaken by the incident, says Taunya Horn, who runs the Flathead Warming Center.
“Our homeless community grieves too for a loved one that they have lost,” Horn said.
But Horn and other shelter providers in the Flathead said this wasn’t an isolated incident and that there’s been a rapid increase in violent attacks committed by teenagers and other young people over the past few months.
Unsheltered locals and homeless advocates said those attacks started after Flathead County’s three Republican commissioners wrote a public letter in January calling for the closure of local shelters, arguing they attract homeless people from other states. Shelter operators said that’s false.
Kenneth Triplett, who utilizes shelter services, said the alleged murder is a sign that the rhetoric and attacks have gone too far.
“These kids that are going out here and doing what they’re doing, someone has to put an end to it, and I’m talking law enforcement,” Triplett said.
County Commissioner Randy Brodehl said the commissioners’ letter hasn’t fomented violence.
“I think there’s a lot of frustration that would like to point at the letter,” Brodehl said.
He called Bryan’s murder tragic. However, he said the commissioners are targeting a small group of what he called transients, who he said are causing damage to local parks and facilities.
“People that are takers of taxpayer services without being part of the community are really who is causing hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe $1 million, this year in costs to the taxpayer,” Brodehl said.
Homeless advocates say that kind of rhetoric does lead to violence towards homeless populations, which appears to be on the rise. SK Rossi is a policy and advocacy consultant that works with shelters statewide.
“It’s everything from people driving by the Poverello Center in Missoula and screaming at the residents to physical attacks on the streets in Missoula, to attacks in dark alleys in Great Falls to people attacking folks in their RVs in Bozeman,” Rossi said.
Rossi said data on violent attacks toward homeless people is hard to track but said a coalition of shelter providers plans to document the apparent increase across Montana.
The National Coalition for the Homeless has been tracking and verifying national data for decades. Executive Director Donald Whitehead said violent attacks increased 5% from 2020 to 2022.
“During COVID, we saw an increase in violence and it again correlates with a five year increase in unsheltered homelessness,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead’s team is aggregating post-COVID data. He’s expecting a larger increase in attacks because homeless populations have become more visible as people struggle to keep up with rising housing costs.
He said hateful rhetoric from elected officials from across the country is also fueling that increase.
“It makes people more likely to lash out and people more likely to commit this kind of violence because they think no one cares and there will be no consequences for those actions,” Whitehead said.
Back at the Flathead Warming Center, Director Taunya Horn hopes a swift prosecution in Scott Bryan’s case will be a deterrent for others and stop the violence.
“There are real attacks still happening in our community. I thought that surely this would be a wakeup call,” Horn said.
Kaleb Fleck is due to be arraigned next week, and the Flathead County attorney’s office said more charges are possible for the other teen who allegedly filmed the incident.
