Gunman in Yountville Veterans home killings was ex-patient and decorated Army infantryman
YOUNTVILLE, Calif. - The gunman who killed three women at the country's largest veterans center in Yountville, Calif. had been kicked out of a therapy program for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder following a distinguished career in the Army that began 20 years ago.
Afghanistan veteran Albert Cheung Wong, 36, of Sacramento, had won the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, two campaign stars for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Army Service ribbon, two Overseas Service ribbons, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Expert Marksmanship Badge with Rifle.
On Saturday, the Army issued Wong's history, where he was a specialist since 2011 in the infantry division. He had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and was active until 2013, according to LTC Nina L. Hill of the Army Media Relations team in Washington, D.C. He was in the Army Reserve component since 1998. He began is active component in 2010.
Wong was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday evening by Napa Valley sheriff's deputies at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville. Alongside him were the bodies of three women: The Napa County Sheriff-Coroner's Office identified them as Pathway Home clinical director Jennifer Golick, 42, of St. Helena, executive director, Christine Loeber, 48, of Napa and Jennifer Gonzales, 32.
Bob Golick told the Associated Press that his daughter-in-law, Jennifer Golick, recently kicked Wong out of the program, but it's unclear for what reason.
As law enforcement laid it out, armed with a rifle, Wong slipped into a going-away party for some employees of the Pathway Home, a nonprofit post-traumatic stress disorder program about 10:30 a.m. on Friday. He took some people hostage and let others go.
Authorities say he traded gunshots with a deputy early on and then nothing more was heard until his body was found along with the three women later that evening.
At a news conference on Saturday, Yountville Mayor John Dunbar called Wong a "warrior" who had been overtaken by "demons." He would not be more specific.