Gunman holds 3 hostages at Napa Valley Veterans Home

The Sheriff’s Office issued a public notice urging people to avoid the area, off Highway 29 near the Napa Valley Museum and local veterans hospital.|

An active shooter armed with what appeared to be a high-powered rifle took hostages Friday morning at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, drawing a large law enforcement response to the 615-acre property in Napa County, according to preliminary reports.

The first reports of an active shooter came in about 10:20 a.m. at the facility, which houses about 850 residents, according to California Department of Veteran Affairs spokeswoman June Iljana.

Scanner traffic indicated up to 30 shots had been fired in an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and law enforcement.

Subsequent reports indicate the suspect was a former resident of The Pathway Home, a privately run program on the veterans home's grounds. The program treats veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The suspect is apparently known to law enforcement but they are not releasing his name during an ongoing crisis.

He apparently came into a going-away party and staff meeting at the Northern California veterans home and took several hostages, releasing all but three when law enforcement from multiple agencies responded.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, whose district includes the sprawling state-run Napa Valley campus for military veterans, confirmed Friday afternoon that one of the hostages is the director of the Pathway Home program for veterans, Christine Loeber, as well as two other staff members, all trained mental health professionals.

Teenagers from Justin-Siena High School who had been rehearsing in the theater drove themselves off the property in a line of cars Friday afternoon without injury.

Napa County law enforcement were working to communicate with people at the facility to ensure residents and staff were sheltering in place and staying low to the ground, according to emergency dispatch reports.

Napa County Sheriff's Officials issued a public warning about 10:45 a.m. urging people to avoid the area near the campus on Highway 29 and Yountville Cross Road. That traffic warning is still in place as of 5 p.m. Friday.

Heavily armed law enforcement officers surrounded the sprawling campus, which traces its operations back about 135 years.

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