Veterans center killer targeted his victims, CHP says
The former Army infantryman who killed three staff members and himself at a rehabilitation center for war veterans in Yountville entered through the building’s back loading dock carrying a shotgun and a semiautomatic rifle and wearing safety glasses and ear protection, the California Highway Patrol said.
In a brief synopsis of its investigative report, released Tuesday, the CHP suggested Albert Wong acted quickly and deliberately when he attacked Pathway Home on the campus of the Veter-
ans Home of California-Yountville just after 10 a.m. on March 9. Wong had been a client at the center.
On the second floor of Madison Hall, Wong “entered a room where a small gathering of Pathway Home staff was taking place,” the CHP said. “Wong ordered the veterans to exit the room, and one of the staff members in the room dialed 911 and reported an active shooter incident.”
Wong ordered all staffers to leave except three women — clinical psychologist Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, who was seven months pregnant, clinical director Jennifer Golick and Executive Director Christine Loeber — whom he took hostage, the report said.
Soon after, a Napa County sheriff ’s deputy entered the center and exchanged gunfire with Wong. Wong then killed the three clinicians before turning one of his guns on himself. He acted alone, the CHP said.
The Napa County district attorney’s office said this week that its review of the evidence in the case led it to conclude that the officer’s actions were legally justified, because he feared “for the lives of the women being held hostage and his own life.”
The CHP’s full report has yet to be released. While the agency gave some detail, it left much unknown, including what it found about security at the veterans center and about Wong’s motives.
“While many people still grieve and are still processing this incident, even though it was many months ago, this report does answer some additional questions,” said Pathway Home spokesman Larry Kamer. “We hope to find some closure and some comfort to people who really are looking for answers on what happened on March 9.”
Wong, a Sacramento resident, had been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at Pathway Home but was “separated from the program” shortly before the killings, the center said.
Military records show Wong was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army from April 2011 to March 2012, with the rank of specialist E4. He was in active service from May 2010 to August 2013 and previously was in the Army Reserve from 1998 to 2002.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Pathway Home announced it would not reopen. On Aug. 31, the nonprofit center terminated its lease at the state-run campus, where it had treated more than 500 veterans since it was founded a decade ago.