Woman sentenced to prison for shooting in Billings hospital emergency room

BILLINGS — A woman who killed herself and then was shot by a police officer in a Billings hospital emergency room has been sentenced to prison.

Panda Emily Aradia, 38, was sentenced to a total of 20 years, with five years suspended, following her conviction at trial on criminal charges of criminal endangerment and assault with a weapon.

The charges were filed following a shooting at the Billings Clinic emergency department on October 16, 2022. During the incident, shots were fired by Aradia and a police officer after Aradia brought a handgun at the hospital and threatened to harm himself and others.

At a sentencing hearing in Yellowstone County District Court on Tuesday, Aradia was also ordered to serve a concurrent five-year suspended sentence after previously pleading no contest to felony stalking in a other criminal case. Aradia was accused in that case of violating a protective order issued against her because of her behavior toward a younger person who rejected her romantic advances, according to court records.

Judge Jessica Fehr imposed the sentence and recommended that Aradia serve her prison term at the Montana Women's Prison. Aradia's lawyer had argued for a lesser sentence, without prison
incarceration based on Aradia's status as transgender.

At sentencing, a prosecutor argued that Aradia deserved to serve prison time because the shooting took place at a hospital.

According to court records, Aradia was able to bring a concealed handgun into the emergency area of ​​the hospital around 5 p.m. and checked in to seek help for suicidal thoughts.

Aradia was placed in a triage room. A nurse entered the room and began an initial assessment, part of which included asking Aradia if she had made a suicide plan.

Prosecutors said Aradia responded to the question by pulling out the handgun and pointing it at the nurse “for several seconds.” She then turned the gun on herself and told the nurse she had three minutes to get help or Aradia would shoot.

The nurse “attempted to calm the situation, but ultimately left the room and informed staff of the situation.”

Hospital security officers intervened and went to speak to Aradia, who was still holding the gun on her when the officers entered the room. Aradia “told security they only had a few minutes to get help or she would start shooting,” according to court records.

Shortly after, a team of Billings police officers arrived and as they approached the room where Aradia was, they heard a gunshot, according to court records.

When officers entered the room, they found Aradia on the floor with a gun nearby. An officer shot Aradia once as she grabbed the gun and pulled it toward her.

It was later determined that Aradia had shot himself in the lower abdomen, “causing non-life-threatening injuries.” The bullet passed through the wall and entered the adjacent room where a patient had been evacuated moments earlier.

Investigators said more than 80 people were in the emergency area of ​​the hospital at the time of the shooting.

“A hospital is supposed to be a place of safety and healing,” Assistant County Attorney Benjamin Lanford wrote in court records before the sentencing hearing. “The defendant has sullied that perception of this community.”

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