Ryan Van Nguyen has been charged with negligent homicide for the death of Jackson Molnar in Great Falls. It happened early on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in the parking lot of the Albertsons-Target shopping complex along 10th Avenue South.
TOMMY LYNCH REPORTS FROM THE SCENE:
Court documents state that police were notified via a 911 call at about 2:30 a.m. of a person with a gunshot wound to the head.
Responding officers found Jackson on the ground between two of three vehicles in the parking lot.
Officers talked with several people at the scene, including Nguyen, who reportedly "made utterances that he shot Molnar."
According to the court documents, Nguyen indicated that he was holding the gun and preparing to clear it. He said that Molnar grabbed the slide of the gun and pulled it toward himself. Nguyen's finger was inside of the trigger guard, and the gun went off and shot Molnar.
One of the witnesses confirmed the series of events, telling detectives that he, Nguyen, and Molnar were in the backseat of one of the cars showing off their guns to each other.
He said Molnar asked to see Nguyen's gun, and Nguyen pulled it out, raised it up, and Molnar again asked to see it, and then grabbed for the gun. That is when the witness heard the gunshot.
The court documents say that Nguyen turned toward the witness and said, "I just shot Jackson."
The two then got out of the car and went around to the other side of the car where Molnar had fallen out of the vehicle. They then called 911.
The charging document concluded: “The State respectfully requests bond in the amount of O.R. The Defendant shall be released to the custody of his First Shirt."
"First Shirt" is a reference to the First Sergeant of a military unit; he or she is responsible for discipline of junior enlisted members.
Lieutenant Matt Fleming of the Great Falls Police Department stressed some key points about firearms safety: "The first one generally is to treat all firearms as if they're loaded. The next one is never point a weapon at anything you don't intend to kill, destroy, damage, or pay for. Third one is to keep your finger off the trigger until you've made the conscious decision to fire. The fourth one is to know your target, what's around your target, what's around you to include what's behind you, if possible.”
