Gunman takes hostages at veterans home
A GUNMAN has taken at least three people hostage at a large veterans home in California.
Police closed access to the veterans home in Yountville, San Francisco after a man with a gun was reported on the grounds.
The Napa County Sheriff's Department issued an alert to residents at 10:30am local time. Friday, warning them to avoid the area because of "activity at the Veterans Home in Yountville."
Reports of shots fired at Veterans Home of California in Yountville, north of San Francisco, leading to lockdown. It's the largest veterans’ home in the country, with 1,000+ vets living there. Shots fired reportedly at the dining facility at Madison Hall (pictured). pic.twitter.com/OnWItMLSV2
— Andrew Luria (@AndrewLuria) March 9, 2018
An active shooter and hostage situation at a Veterans' Home - a nursing home. With many residents probably re-traumatized. Another low. Another urgent call for uncomfortable reflection and change.
— Charity Tabol, Ph.D. (@CharityTabolPhD) March 9, 2018
#Breaking: The Napa County Sheriff's department is telling people to stay away from the area around the Yountville Veteran's Home after gunfire was reported. https://t.co/rC0vPxYTxQ
— KQED (@KQED) March 9, 2018
"A man, dressed in black and wearing body armour, was reportedly armed with an automatic weapon," the Napa Valley Register reported.
The sheriff's department did not immediately respond to a telephone call from The Associated Press.
The state Veterans Affairs department says the home that opened in 1984 is the largest veterans' home in the United States, with about 1,000 elderly and disabled residents.
Its website says it offers residential accommodations with recreational, social, and therapeutic activities for independent living.
Veterans of World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom now live at the home, according to the website.
The Veteran's Home in Yountville is one of the largest in the country, and is located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, just north of San Francisco.
The grounds are also home to a 1,200-seat theatre, a 9-hole golf course, a baseball stadium, bowling lanes, a swimming pool, and a military Base Exchange branch store.
Yountville is in Napa Valley, the heart of Northern California's wine country.
More to come.
