CHUBBUCK — Authorities have released the identity of the alleged gunman in Friday’s fatal shooting on Tank Farm Road west of Chubbuck that left two adult siblings dead and three other people injured.
The suspect has been identified as Richard Todd Forrest, a 63-year-old Pocatello man, according to a Bannock County news release issued Wednesday evening. Forrest was identified by the Bannock County Coroner’s Office in cooperation with the Power County Coroner’s Office and Power County Sheriff’s Office. Next of kin has been notified.
“Our office is committed to a standard of absolute accuracy and compassion,” said Bannock County Coroner Torey Danner. “When family resides out of state, the logistics of locating and notifying them personally becomes more complex, but it is a necessary step. Ensuring a family hears this news from a professional — not from a news headline or a social media post — is a matter of respect that we will not compromise on.”
Forrest was shot and killed by law enforcement after an hourslong manhunt that stretched across open land and along the nearby Portneuf River. The victims he allegedly shot were Brandon Lee Madden, 40, and Amanda Ann Christian, 36 — a brother and sister from Pocatello who had been drawn into their parents’ contentious divorce proceedings in the days before the shooting.
An unprecedented response
Power County Sheriff Kasey Kendall, who described the incident as “unprecedented” during an April 3 news conference, said his office received a 911 call at 2:38 p.m. that day reporting three people shot on Tank Farm Road. Deputies arrived to find two people dead and one wounded. The injured individual — later identified as Amanda Christian’s husband, Matt — was transported by ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.
With a suspect unaccounted for and a large area to search, Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu activated the STAR team, a multiagency tactical unit consisting of sheriff’s offices and police departments across the region, including Bannock, Bingham, Bear Lake, Caribou and Franklin counties, along with the city police departments in Chubbuck and Blackfoot.
“I want to express my condolences and my deepest sympathies to the families that experienced loss due to this tragic, tragic incident,” Manu said at the news conference. “This is not something we typically deal with or handle on a routine or regular basis.”
Manu requested armored vehicles from both the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office and the Pocatello Police Department, and drone teams from multiple agencies — including Idaho State Police — were deployed to assist with the aerial search.
“Those drones were mission critical,” said Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei, whose department contributed an armored vehicle, members of its SWAT team and drone operators to the response.
“When they heard the gunfire, they ran directly toward the threat. That goes to show the character of our officers from every agency that was out there,” Schei said.
Gunfire on the river
Tactical teams searched the residence, outbuildings and surrounding open land before expanding their sweep toward the Portneuf River. A drone unit located Forrest near the riverbank and directed a ground team to his position.
As officers approached and began verbal negotiations, Forrest opened fire — first at two people passing by in a boat on the river who had no connection to the incident, and then at law enforcement, authorities said.
One boater was shot in the shoulder and remained hospitalized in stable condition at Portneuf Medical Center earlier this week. A second person in the boat had a bullet graze the side of his head but was not hospitalized.
Officers continued advancing toward Forrest. When he made a lethal threat toward the team, deputies responded with deadly force, Manu said during the news conference. Forrest was pronounced dead at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Investigation ongoing
The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force, led by the Idaho Falls Police Department — a standard protocol throughout the region that ensures the investigating agency has no connection to the officers involved.
The underlying double homicide investigation remains the responsibility of the Power County Sheriff’s Office, which will receive assistance from Idaho State Police and the Bannock and Bingham county sheriff’s offices, Bingham County Sheriff Jeff Gardner said at the news conference.
“We ask for the community’s continued patience as our investigators work through the complexities of this case,” Kendall said in Wednesday’s news release. “At this stage, speculation only hinders the process. We will provide a clear and factual account of the events as soon as it is responsible to do so.”
Authorities said a critical incident video is being prepared for public release. Tank Farm Road, which had been closed following the shooting, has since reopened.
A GoFundMe campaign established for the Madden family can be found at gofund.me/c32228663. Donations can also be made via Venmo at @mimi_lynn22.