Three taken hostage by gunman at California veterans home

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Law enforcement members stage near the Veterans Home of California after reports of an active shooter Friday, March 9, 2018, in Yountville, Calif. Napa County Fire captain Chase Beckman says a gunman has taken hostages at the veterans home in California. (JL Sousa/Napa Valley Register via AP)

Published: 5:23am, 10 Mar 2018Updated: 5:52am, 10 Mar 2018

A gunman took at least three people hostage at an employee going-away party at the largest veterans home in the United States on Friday, leading to a lockdown of the sprawling grounds in California.

Authorities said they could not immediately say if anyone was injured.

Police evacuated the property of the Veterans Home of California after reports of a man with a gun at the facility in Yountville, one of Napa Valley’s most upscale towns in the heart of Northern California wine country.

“We do have an active shooter situation with a hostage situation in Yountville,” California Highway Patrol Officer John Fransen told San Francisco Bay Area news station KTVU-TV.

Police say that 15 to 20 shots were fired at the Yountville Veterans Center, where three people were taken hostage. https://t.co/PmEDdRErzO Video: @MarkIbanez2 pic.twitter.com/E5gCs0p7LN

— KTVU (@KTVU) March 9, 2018

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

Larry Kamer said that his wife, Devereaux Smith, was at the party and told him by phone that the gunman had entered the room quietly, letting some people leave while taking others hostage.