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Official: Gunman Takes Hostages at California Vets Home

by Associated Press

   YOUNTVILLE, CALIFORNIA --

   Napa County Fire captain Chase Beckman says a gunman has taken hostages
   at a veterans home in California.

   Police closed access to the large veterans home in Yountville after a
   man with a gun was reported on the grounds.

   The Napa County Sheriff's Department issued an alert to residents at
   10:30 a.m. Friday warning them to avoid the area because of ``activity
   at the Veterans Home in Yountville.''

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

   The sheriff's department did not immediately respond to a telephone
   call from The Associated Press.

   The state Veterans Affairs department says it is the largest veterans'
   home in the United States, with about 1,000 residents.