The three women and the suspected gunman who died in a standoff at a Northern California veteran’s home Friday have been identified.
CNN reports that the coroner has identified the three Veterans Home of California in Yountville employees killed as Jennifer Golick, 42; and Jennifer Gonzales, 29; and Christine Loeber, 48. All three victims worked for the Pathway Home program, which offers mental health services to veteran’s suffering from PTSD. Golick and Gonzalez were clinical psychologists and staff therapists; Loeber was the program’s executive director.
The gunman has been identified as 36-year-old Albert Wong. He was a patient in the Pathway Home program until two weeks ago, according to CNN, but it is not known what, if any, his personal relationship was with the victims.
In a statement released by Pathway Home and obtained by USA Today, the three women killed were described as “accomplished professionals who dedicated their careers to serving our nation’s veterans.”
They worked “closely with those in greatest need of attention after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the statement continued.
According to USA Today, Wong was a decorated U.S. Army veteran who was on active duty from May 2010 to August 2013. He served in Afghanistan and was awarded four medals.
Law enforcement officials told CNN that authorities were in a nearly eight-hour standoff with the gunman, and tried repeatedly to contact him by phone. They were eventually able to identify the building where Wong was believed to be holding hostages, and entered to find the four dead bodies, including that of the suspected shooter. It does not appear that authorities have confirmed how Wong died.
A family member told the Associated Press that Dr. Golick called her husband Mark Golick on Friday afternoon to say she had been taken hostage.
It is not clear at what point during the standoff the victims were killed.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
[Feature photo: Jennifer Golick, Christine Loeber, Jennifer Gonzales/Facebook]