Gunman Forces Standoff at VA Building

A veteran armed with explosives and a rifle crashed his car through a gate at a Veterans Affairs office and began a standoff with authorities Sunday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

The 50-year-old man, whose name was not released, broke into the Veterans Affairs Regional Center about 3:45 a.m. PST, Waco police spokeswoman Marcia Bourque said. The man was not holding hostages.

“The person is armed with explosives,” she said. “This person made demands, and we are evacuating the area.”

Patrick Swanton, a Waco Police Department negotiator, said the man appeared to be lucid and sober.

“He is rational. He is very cooperative. He has some very real concerns and issues that we are trying to work through with him at this time.”

A caller to Fort Worth television station KXAS identified himself as the gunman and claimed he had a grudge.

“When the trouble started, my files got lost. My appeals got lost in the madness of the VA bureaucracy,” the caller, who identified himself as Jason Leigh, told the station.

Police did not confirm whether the caller was the gunman.

Officers evacuated residents in a six-block area around the downtown building, and police were negotiating with the gunman.

An Army bomb disposal team stood by as federal and local law officers surrounded the building.

Evacuees from the residential area were taken to the Waco Convention Center, where a command center was set up. No injuries were reported.