Four people are dead in a Napa County veterans’ home after an active shooter took hostages there.
Capt. Chris Childs of the California Highway Patrol said three females and one male suspect were found dead in a room where police thought hostages were being held at the Yountville Veterans Home, which cares for aged veterans and people with disabilities.
Childs said the home is still an active crime scene and implored the public to stay away.
“I would ask as the evening progresses, as we repopulate the veterans’ home, that you be mindful of our good veterans who have served our country, who have just been through a very traumatic event there in their home, and please to stay away from the grounds of the veterans’ home.”
Childs said police located the suspect’s car — a rental — and checked it with a bomb-sniffing dog.
A SWAT team cleared the car and the vehicle is safe. He said there’s no threat to public safety at this time.
WATCH: California Highway Patrol police provided a timeline Friday of how the veterans home hostage situation in Yountville, Calif. unfolded saying police responded to a “shots fired” call.
A “shots fired” call came in at 10:20 am local time and within four minutes a deputy was on scene, Childs said. Gunfire was exchanged between the deputy and the shooter but as far as officials know, there were no injuries.
State Sen. Bill Dodd, who represents the area, told reporters that the gunman was a member of the Pathway Home, a program for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Dodd said he was kicked out of the program.
The hostages were all employees of Pathway Home. Police are not aware of their condition.
They did know who the suspect was though, according to Napa County Sheriff John Robertson. Police had tried to contact him through his cellphone and various telephones in the building, though they have not talked to him yet.
WATCH: California authorities said Friday they have been trying “numerous” times to contact the man who has taken three people hostage at a veterans home but have been unsuccessful.
This is the largest veterans home in the United States, with about 1,000 residents. Yountville is about 80 kilometres northeast of San Francisco.
The Napa County Sheriff’s Department issued an alert to residents at 10:30 a.m. Friday warning them to avoid the area because of “activity at the Veterans Home in Yountville.”
CalVet, a government organization representing California veterans, also said they are cooperating with law enforcement.
“Law enforcement is at the Yountsville Veteran’s Home right now following reports of gunfire,” it posted on Twitter. “We have activated our emergency response protocol and are cooperating with law enforcement.”
Larry Kamer, whose wife Devereaux Smith was attending a going-away party and staff meeting at the veterans home, told The Associated Press that the gunman quietly entered the room and let some people leave while holding others hostage.
WATCH: California veterans home resident talks about lockdown procedure as active shooter situation continues
Kamer said his wife is now inside the home’s dining hall and is not allowed to leave. He spoke to her by phone.
Police said that people who have family members who work at the Yountville home and who are concerned about their well-being should call a hotline number at: 707-948-3331.
WATCH: Hostage situation at veterans home in California
— With files from the Associated Press, Reuters
Comments