Veterans Home shooter found dead, along with his three female hostages

ABC News reports,

Three hostages and a suspect are dead after a daylong standoff at a veterans home in Napa County, California, officials said.

California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Chris Childs said the siege, which began Friday morning, ended around 6 p.m. PT when authorities entered a room at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, where the hostages were being held, and found four bodies: three women and the male suspect.

“Shortly before 6 p.m. law enforcement personnel made entry into the room where we felt the hostages were being held, and unfortunately made the discovery of one three deceased females and one deceased male suspect,” Childs said at a Friday evening press briefing. “This is a tragic piece of news — one that we were really hoping we wouldn’t have to come before the public to give.”

The Napa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office identified the suspect as 36-year-old Albert Wong of Sacramento. The three female hostages were identified as 48-year-old Christine Loeber, 42-year-old Jennifer Golick and 29-year-old Jennifer Gonzales. Forensic examinations of the deceased were scheduled for next week, the sheriff-coroner’s office said.

Wong was a former member of the Pathway Home program at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville, officials said. The Associated Press reported Wong was a former Army infantryman.

The Pathway Home is a nonprofit, residential program that serves post-9/11 veterans affected by deployment-related stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, according to its website. The program’s government partners include the Veterans Home of California-Yountville.

Officials said Loeber was the executive director of the program there, Golick the clinical director and Gonzales a psychologist.

In a statement obtained by ABC station KGO, the Pathway Home said the three hostages were “brave” and “accomplished.”

“These brave women were accomplished professionals who dedicated their careers to serving our nation’s veterans and working closely with those in the greatest need of attention after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the statement says. “All of us at The Pathway Home are devastated by today’s events. We stand with the families, friends, and colleagues who share in this terrible loss.”

Read more here.