Gunman, 3 hostages found dead in veterans home

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. — Three workers for a program that treats veterans for posttraumatic stress disorder were found dead Friday along with the suspect who took them hostage in a daylong standoff at the largest veterans home in the U.S., officials said.

The bodies of the four were discovered nearly eight hours after the gunman slipped into an employee goingaway party in a building where combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan receive treatment, said California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Chris Childs.

The three female victims were employees of the nonprofit Pathway Home treatment program, which is housed on the campus of the Veterans Home of California-Yountville.

Napa County Sheriff John Robertson declined to identify the victims and the gunman Friday night, saying family members still needed to be notified.

Authorities said they did not know the motive for the attack at the state-run veterans home, which is located in one of Napa Valley’s mostupscale towns in the heart of wine country.

“It’s far too early to say if they were chosen at random,” Childs said.

A deputy sheriff responding to an emergency call shortly after 10 a.m. got into a shootout with the gunman, but the officer was not injured.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Robert Nacke said negotiators then were unable to make contact with the gunman throughout the day.

Larry Kamer said his wife, Devereaux Smith, was at a morning staff party and told him by phone that the gunman had entered the room quietly, letting some people leave while taking others hostage.

Smith, a fundraiser for the Pathway Home organization, was still inside the facility’s dining hall at the time.

Police evacuated the property and closed off nearby roads during the standoff.

The state Veterans Affairs department said the home opened in 1984 and is the nation’s largest veterans home, with about 1,000 elderly and disabled residents.

Yountville is about 53 miles north of San Francisco.