In the early hours of February 2, 2020, the life of 21-year-old Senior Airman Tristen Carlson, a White male, was tragically cut short in Great Falls, Montana. A graduate of Sidney High School in 2016, where he had been a student-athlete playing football and baseball, Carlson was serving with the 341st Security Forces Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
The incident that led to his death unfolded at an off-base party hosted by a fellow airman.
Great Falls police received a distressing 911 call at approximately 2:27 a.m. from a woman at an apartment complex on 14th Avenue South. She reported that a person had been shot inside the residence of Christopher Contardo. The victim was identified as Tristen Carlson, who was found with a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced deceased when law enforcement arrived. The caller, who had administered CPR, and Contardo were both present at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified 26-year-old Christopher Domonic Contardo, a former airman, as the individual who fired the weapon. According to the defense attorney, both Contardo and Carlson had been drinking and were handling a 9mm handgun when it discharged while in Contardo's possession. Initially, there was some confusion as the dispatcher overheard Contardo telling the 911 caller to say they were "playing with the gun and it went off". Contardo, who had previous firearms training as a former member of the military police, was taken into custody.
Christopher Contardo was subsequently charged with negligent homicide in connection with Carlson's death. In April 2021, he pleaded guilty to the charge. The plea agreement was reached after mediation with Carlson's family and recommended a sentence of 150 days in a prerelease center followed by six years of probation. As part of the agreement, Contardo was also required to purchase a $100 savings bond for Carlson's daughter on the anniversary of her father's death for each year of his probation.
