In the quiet rural landscape of Souris, North Dakota, a workplace dispute on the morning of March 24, 2015, ended in tragedy with the death of 37-year-old White male, Brian James Story. An employee at Turtle Mountain Pork, Story was a resident of the nearby town of Bottineau and was known as a burgeoning leader within the company. On that Tuesday morning, the routine of the workday was shattered when gunshots echoed through the facility.
Law enforcement and emergency services were dispatched to the scene following a 911 call about an unconscious person. Upon their arrival, they discovered the bodies of Brian Story and his 50-year-old colleague, Christopher Sluder. Both men had succumbed to fatal gunshot wounds. Story was found in a hallway of the facility, a place that just moments before had been a familiar part of his daily life. The discovery of spent 9mm casings near his body pointed to a violent end.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly focused on a fellow employee, Jeremy Isaac Rodriguez Rios. According to reports, Rios had been reprimanded for his job performance prior to the shootings. This confrontation appears to have been the catalyst for the deadly events that followed. In the hours after the incident, law enforcement located and apprehended Rios.
During questioning, Rios confessed to the shooting of both Story and Sluder. He was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of murder. The small community of Bottineau was left in a state of shock and mourning over the loss of two of its residents in such a senseless act of violence. Brian Story, a family man with a positive demeanor, was remembered for the bright smile he offered to everyone he met.
