Ex-Soldier Takes Hostages at Army Hospital

A former Army soldier demanding behavioral treatment at a Georgia military hospital took three workers hostage at gunpoint today before authorities persuaded him to surrender peacefully. No one was hurt and no shots were fired in the short standoff at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart, according to a spokesman. The gunman was arrested by military police and is being questioned.

The ex-soldier walked into the emergency room at about 4 am carrying four guns, the spokesman said. He took one hospital employee, a soldier, hostage and headed to the building's behavioral treatment wing on the third floor. There, an Army nurse approached him, and was taken hostage as well. The nurse managed to calm the gunman down, however, and two hours later military police convinced him to surrender. The Fort Stewart spokesman said he didn't know if the man had ever been denied treatment. "He broke the law, obviously. But we are going to get him help."
(More Department of Veterans Affairs stories.)