At around 1:20 p.m. on Sunday, 911 received a call from the St. Patrick’s Hospital security department. Security reported that a male driving a white van had pointed a gun at a security staff member who had observed the male trespassing on hospital property.

Missoula Police Department officers were immediately dispatched and quickly arrived at the hospital. One officer made contact with two members of the security staff who were in the old Safeway parking lot. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold has more details.

“St. Patrick’s security staff was addressing a vehicle that was trespassing on the property,” Arnold said. “An unknown person opened the backdoors of the van, pointed a gun at the security staff, and made a comment about also having a gun. The victims were close enough that if the person had opened fire, they would have likely been hit, causing them to fear for their life and overall safety.”

The security officer told the officer he believed he was going to be shot right there and thought to himself, “it was the end.” The security officer said he paused for a split-second and then ran behind a nearby small brick outbuilding where he radioed other security personnel for help.

The security officer pointed to a white van and told the officer it had remained parked in the same location in the 600 block of West Pine Street. While they were talking, the officer observed a male on a bicycle who the security officer immediately identified as the suspect male.

“The security officer observed the male he had been speaking to who was now traveling on a bike,” Arnold said. “Officers stopped and detained the male who was identified as Lenny Hadden. During the initial investigation, officers spoke with Hadden, the victim, and the witnesses. A small handgun was located on scene. Hadden was taken into custody for assault with a weapon.”

Upon closer visual observation from outside the van, officers determined it was not a black handgun but possibly an airsoft or bb gun.

After transporting Hadden to the jail, an officer located a prior incident report dated July 10, 2021, involving Hadden making threats to St. Pat’s security staff and threatening he was going to shoot them. Following this incident, Hadden had been informed he was prohibited from being on St. Pat’s property.

The officer also transported the backpack Hadden had with him when he was stopped on the bicycle to MPD’s storage facility. The officer searched the backpack and located a glass pipe containing drug residue.

Hadden is currently being charged with felony assault with a weapon, criminal trespass to property, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Hadden’s bail was set at $25,000.

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