West Palm Beach VA Hospital Shooting: Patient Injures Doctor Inside Emergency Room

UPDATE: 11.50 p.m. EST - The suspect in the Wednesday shooting of a VA doctor in West Palm Beach, Florida, was identified by the FBI as 59-year-old Larry Ray Bon, an Army veteran.

A double amputee from incidents not related to combat duty, Bon showed up at the hospital early in the day and was combative all day. He pulled out a small handgun and fired multiple shots when doctors were examining him. The injured doctor, whose identity was not revealed, jumped on him to suppress him and got shot in the neck. A female nurse was also grazed by a bullet.

Bon was homeless and not cooperating with police, according to reports.

Original story:

A doctor was shot by a patient inside the emergency room at the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday evening.

A double amputee shot the doctor in the neck. The doctor underwent surgery and was stable. The patient was detained and the gun was located.

CBS 12 reported, quoting a source, that a tech staffer saw the patient loading the gun in a room, but before he could do anything about the situation, the patient came out of the room firing. The employees at the center were under lockdown for a few hours.

Riviera Beach police was assisting the VA police.

Donna Katen-Bahensky, director of the medical center, issued a statement saying there was no dangers to the patients.

“An incident has occurred this evening at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. There is no danger to patients or staff at this time and the area has been secured. We are working with local law enforcement and the investigation remains ongoing.”