A Yellowstone County SWAT officer shot and killed a woman during a standoff in east Billings over the weekend.
According to the Billings Police Department, officers responded Saturday afternoon to a disturbance at a business involving the 35-year-old woman. BPD says the woman displayed a firearm, shot a round in the air and then fled in a stolen vehicle.
Police say after a short pursuit, the woman refused to exit the vehicle and city and county SWAT teams and Billings Police negotiators were called to the scene. A standoff lasted about two hours.
According to police, officers deployed gas in the vehicle to force the woman out. She eventually exited the vehicle with a weapon pointed at officers, at which time the county SWAT officer shot her. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police have not released any additional details about the woman.
The AP reports the sheriff’s deputy who shot the woman has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.
The shooting occurred a week after a Billings police officer was shot during a 14-hour standoff in central Billings that ended in a woman’s arrest.
