Wounded Doctor Helps Subdue VA Hospital Shooter

Veteran was about to undergo a mental health exam
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2019 6:00 PM CST
Wounded Doctor Helps Subdue VA Hospital Shooter
Police investigate a shooting at the VA Medical Center on Wednesday in West Palm Beach.   (Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post via AP)

A 59-year-old Army veteran shot a doctor in the neck Wednesday at a VA hospital in Florida, just before he was to undergo a mental health evaluation. The wounded doctor helped subdue the veteran, the FBI said, per USA Today. "It was very brave," an agent said. "He's doing well, and he did a heroic thing today." Another employee was grazed by a shot. The FBI identified the veteran as Larry Ray Bon of Michigan, a double amputee who uses a wheelchair. His personal physician had admitted him for the mental health exam at the West Palm Beach medical center, WPLG reports, citing a criminal complaint. The FBI said it doesn't know of Bon having any combat-related mental conditions. His mother told WPLG that his mental health deteriorated after a bout with spinal meningitis as a child. He was honorably discharged from the Army, she said. (More veterans stories.)

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