Emergency automobiles are seen outdoors a Division of Veterans Affairs clinic in Jasper, Ga., on March 17, 2026.
| Photograph Credit score: AP
There was a capturing Tuesday (March 17, 2026) at a Division of Veterans Affairs clinic in a small city on the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains in Georgia, and the gunman was shot and killed, police mentioned.
A Veterans Affairs worker was taken by helicopter to a hospital after the gunfire Tuesday (March 17, 2026) afternoon, VA spokesman Peter Kasperowicz mentioned.
Jasper police responded to the scene round 1:30 p.m. Tuesday,(March 17, 2026) the town mentioned in a press release. Exterior the VA clinic, the officers confronted the gunman, who was shot and killed, authorities mentioned.
The gunman was from the Jasper space, Jasper Police Chief Matt Dawkins informed reporters on the scene. However particulars about him weren’t instantly launched.
“We do not know what led as much as it,” Mr. Dawkins mentioned.
Jimmy Mooney was procuring at a close-by Goodwill retailer when he heard gunfire.
“We heard the gunshots going off,” he mentioned. “There was in all probability 17 of us contained in the Goodwill that was procuring, and, that they had come and informed us to get behind the shop and through that point we may see the officers operating down the hill. Gunshots began going off.” The Jasper police chief mentioned the Federal Bureau of Investigation will likely be investigating the capturing together with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
When requested concerning the suspect’s background, a Pickens County sheriff’s spokesman mentioned he didn’t know whether or not he had a army background.
The clinic will stay closed for the remainder of the week, Kasperowicz mentioned.
“VA is rescheduling appointments as needed and making certain Veterans and workers have entry to counseling and chaplain providers within the wake of this tragic occasion,” he mentioned in an electronic mail.
The VA’s Workplace of Inspector Normal will help native authorities within the investigation, he added.
The outpatient clinic in Jasper affords providers that embrace main care and specialty well being providers, together with laboratory, telehealth and psychological well being care, in accordance with its web site.
Jasper, a city of about 5,000 individuals, is roughly 60 miles (97 km) north of downtown Atlanta. Indicators on a freeway by the city name it Georgia’s “First Mountain Metropolis” because the Blue Ridge Mountains come into sight as motorists from Atlanta head north.
Pictures from the native newspaper, the Pickens Progress, confirmed greater than a half-dozen legislation enforcement officers responding to the scene, sporting tactical vests close to a strip mall within the city.
The clinic opened in the summertime of 2020, the U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs mentioned in a information launch saying its grand opening.
“The brand new Pickens County VA Clinic will improve entry and be certain that our Veterans proceed to obtain the high-quality well being care that they’ve earned and deserve nearer to their dwelling,” officers mentioned within the launch. (AP)
Revealed – March 18, 2026 06:00 am IST