YOUNTVILLE, Calif. (AP) – The gunman who killed three women at a Northern California veterans center had been kicked out of a therapy program for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The suspect identified as Afghanistan veteran Albert Wong was found dead Friday evening by Napa Valley sheriff’s deputies at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville.
Wong slipped into a going-away party for some employees of The Pathway Home, a nonprofit post-traumatic stress disorder program. He took some people hostage and let others go.
Fernando Juarez, 36, of Napa, center, embraces his 22-year-old sister Vanessa Flores, right, at the Veterans Home of California on Friday March 9, 2018. in Yountville, Calif. Flores, who is a caregiver at the facility, exchanged texts with family while sheltering in place. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Authorities say he traded gunshots with a deputy early on and then nothing more was heard until his body was found along with those of the home’s executive director, clinical director and a psychologist.
A relative of one victim says Wong recently was kicked out of the program.
A sheriff’s hostage negotiation team passes a California highway patrol checkpoint at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, Calif., Friday, March 9, 2018. Napa County Fire Capt. Chase Beckman says a gunman has taken hostages at the veterans home. Police closed access to the large veterans home after a man with a gun was reported on the grounds. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
People walk to the information center at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, Calif., on Friday March 9, 2018. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Larry Kamer speaks to reporters at the Veterans Home of California, Friday March 9, 2018, in Yountville, Calif. Kamer is the husband of Devereau Smith, a person who was present when a gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
An air ambulance helicopter stages on the Vintners Golf Club driving range near the entrance to the Veterans Home of California, seen in background, in Yountville, Calif., on Friday, March 9, 2018. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
An armored vehicle arrives at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, Calif., on Friday March 9, 2018. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
California Highway patrolmen arrive at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, Calif., on Friday March 9, 2018. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Fernando Juarez, 36, of Napa, center, embraces his 22-year-old sister Vanessa Flores, right, at the Veterans Home of California on Friday March 9, 2018. in Yountville, Calif. Flores, who is a caregiver at the facility, exchanged texts with family while sheltering in place. A gunman took at least three people hostage at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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