Fire official: Gunman takes hostages at Calif. VA home

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. — Napa County Fire captain Chase Beckman says a gunman has taken hostages at a veterans home in California.

Police closed access to the large veterans home in Yountville after a man with a gun was reported on the grounds. The California Highway Patrol told CBS San Francisco the gunman was holding three hostages at the Veterans Home of California.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed to CBS News that shots had been fired at the complex, where 850 veterans live. The California Highway Patrol is on the scene.

Veteran residents and staff are sheltering in place, the spokesperson said.

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.

The Napa Valley Register reported that a man wearing body armor and armed with an automatic weapon entered the home. 

The Register reported the call came in at 10:20 a.m., and several dozen officers from multiple agencies were setting up a perimeter at the veterans home. 

A witness told CBS San Francisco dozens of emergency vehicles were racing along Highway 29 toward the veterans home, including at least four ambulances.   

The sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to a telephone call from The Associated Press.

The state Veterans Affairs department says it is the largest veterans’ home in the United States.