Los Angeles: A gunman and three women thought to be his
hostages were found dead on Saturday at a California veterans’ home
after an hours-long standoff with police.
The assailant struck at 10.20 am (local time) at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville in the Napa Valley, the largest veterans’ home in the United States with around 1,000 former servicemen and women.
“This is a tragic piece of news, one we were really hoping we wouldn’t have to come before the public to give.”
The Napa County Sheriff’s Office had earlier issued an advisory on
social media telling people to avoid the area following reports of
gunfire, as the California Highway Patrol dispatched officers, air
support and a SWAT team to the site.
Childs said a sheriff’s deputy who was first on the scene exchanged fire with the suspect, adding that “we credit him with saving the lives of others in the area by eliminating the ability for the suspect to go out and find further victims”.
The San Francisco Chronicle said the gunman--apparently a 36-year-old war veteran wearing “a stash of bullets” around his neck and waist--had been on the PTSD treatment program, adding that his weapon was a rifle.
It quoted state senator Bill Dodd identifying the program’s executive director, Christine Loeber, as being one of the dead, although the victims’ names have not been officially released. Police did not say how they died, although local media, citing unnamed sources, reported that the assailant shot the three women before turning the gun on himself.