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FBI: Vet Shoots, Wounds Doctor Before Mental Health Check

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Flickr Creative Commons
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The Florida Channel
West Palm Beach VA Medical Center

The FBI says a 59-year-old U.S. Army veteran has shot and wounded a doctor just before a mental health evaluation at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Riviera Beach, Florida. 

The FBI told news outlets Wednesday night that Larry Ray Bon, of Michigan, arrived at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center that morning and was combative for hours. They say he was about to undergo the evaluation that evening when he pulled out the gun and shot the doctor in the neck.

Special Agent Justin Fleck says the doctor subdued Bon, who's also accused of shooting at other patients and staff. Another employee was grazed by a bullet. VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Rutan says the doctor was treated and released. Authorities didn't immediately release his identity.