California gunman was an ex-patient
YOUNTVILLE, CALIFORNIA — Three women who devoted their lives to helping traumatized veterans were killed by a patient who had been kicked out of their Northern California treatment program, authorities and a relative of a victim said.
A daylong siege at The Pathway Home ended Friday evening with the discovery of four bodies, including the gunman. He was identified as Albert Wong, 36, a former-Army rifleman who served a year in Afghanistan in 20112012.
Investigators were still trying to determine when and why Wong killed two executives and a psychologist at The Pathway Home, a nonprofit posttraumatic stress disorder program at the Veterans Home of California Yount villein the Na pa Valley wine country region.
It was "far too early to say if they were chosen at random" because investigators had not yet determined a motive, California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Chris Childs said.
Governor Jerry Brown ordered flags flown at half-staff at the Capitol in memory of the victims, identified as: The Pathway Home executive director Christine Loeber, 48; clinical director Jennifer Golick, 42; and Jennifer Gonzales, 29, a clinical psychologist with the San Francisco Department of VeteransAffairs Healthcare System.
"These brave women were accomplished professionals who dedicated their careers to serving our nation's veterans, working closely with those in the greatest need of attention after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan," The Pathway Home said in a statement.
The Pathway Home is located on the sprawling campus of the veterans' center, which cares for about 1,000 elderly and disabled vets. It is the largest veterans' home in the nation, according to the state Department of VeteransAffairs.
Golick's father-in-law, Bob Golick, said in an interview she had recently expelled Wong from the program. Wong went to the campus about 53 miles (85 kilometers) north of San Francisco on Friday morning, slipping into a going-away party for some employees of The Pathway House.
Larry Kamer told The Associated Press that his wife, Devereaux Smith, called him to say that the gunman had entered the room quietly, letting some people leave while taking others hostage. Golick called her husband, Mark, to say that she had been taken hostage by the former soldier, her father in-law said. Mark Go lick didn' t hear from her again, Malick said.
A Napa Valley sheriff's deputy exchanged gunshots with the hostage-taker at about 10:30 a.m. but after that nothing was heard from Wong or his hostages despite daylong efforts to contact him, authorities said.
The bodies of Wong and the women were found at about 6 p.m. While authorities had the building under siege for about eight hours they didn't enter it. Wong's rental car was later found nearby. A bombsniffing dog alerted authorities to something on the car but the only thing found was a cellphone, authorities said.