Married host of TV show A Rifleman's Journal 'is shot dead by husband of woman he was visiting who then turned the gun on himself'

A man has shot and killed Gregory Rodriguez, the host of The Sportsman Channel show 'A Rifleman's Journal', while the TV personality was visiting the shooter's wife on Thursday night.



Wayne Bengston, 41, then brutally beat his wife, took his two-year-old son to a relative's house and drove to his home in West Glacier, Montana where he apparently killed himself.

Rodriguez, whose show documents his journeys to big game hunting destinations across the world, was visiting Bengston's wife at her mother's house in Whitefish, Montana.

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Murdered: Gregory G. Rodriguez (left), the host of the Sportsman Channel show 'A Rifleman's Journal', has been shot dead by Wayne Bengston (right) as Rodriguez visited his wife late on Thursday night



The woman told police 43-year-old Rodriguez, who was married with two children, was in town on business. Police have not provided further detail into how the pair were acquainted.

Bengston entered the house at 10.30 p.m., shot Rodriguez, brutally beat his wife, and then took his two-year-old son, who was sleeping at the time.

Flathead County sheriff's deputies went to his West Glacier home and found Bengston's truck in the driveway. The SWAT team also responded, but they were unable to make contact with the man.

When they entered the home, they found Bengston dead inside of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.

Hunter: Rodriguez's show follows him traveling the world in pursuit of some of the world's biggest game

Gunman: On the show's Facebook page, Rodriguez repeatedly defends the Second Amendment

Pastime: Rodriguez is pictured on many hunts across the country with his young son

HUNTER, HOST AND BUSINESSMAN: THE LIFE OF GREG RODRIGUEZ

Greg Rodriguez enjoyed a successful career as one of hunting's leading experts. He killed his first buck at the age of 14, sparking a life-long love of the sport. He was a mortgage banker when he went to Africa for the first time in the mid 1990s, but he fell in love with the continent and returned home to launch his own company, Global Adventure Outfitters. GAO helps people achieve optimum experiences when trekking across the globe for hunting. He hunted in 21 countries, went on 55 African safaris, killed 140 big game species, many of which featured on his show, A Rifleman's Journal. One season of the show had appeared on The Sportsman Channel. In 2012, he was presented with Nikon's Ian McMurchy Award 'for his outstanding editorial coverage on the outdoors and his dedication to our hunting heritage and shooting sports'. He was also the Shooting Editor at Shooting Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Petersen's Hunting, Guns & Ammo and Dangerous Game.

He leaves behind his wife Lisa, and their two teenage children, a boy and a girl.



Whitefish Police Department Chief Bill Dial said the investigation is ongoing.



Rodriguez, from Sugar Land, Texas, leaves behind two children, including a 13-year-old son who is frequently featured shooting animals with him on the Rifleman's Journal Facebook page.

Zebras, wild boar, sheep, leopards and brown bears are among the gun-down animals he is pictured showing off. He hunted in 21 countries and killed 140 species of big game, according to his website.



He had repeatedly defended the Second Amendment on the Facebook page in recent weeks, posting pictures to counter the government's bid for gun control.

Besides appearing on TV, he's the CEO of Global Adventure Outfitters, which helps hunters book 'some of the finest trophy hunting and wing shooting outfitters around the world', according to its website.

According to the site, he was also an editor at Shooting Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Petersen's Hunting, Guns & Ammo and Dangerous Game.

Before founding the company, he was a mortgage banker.



Police are holding a news conference to provide more details into the shooting on Friday afternoon.