Man Kills VA Patient, Then Commits Suicide

A drug rehabilitation patient shot and killed another patient outside a Veterans Affairs care facility in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday, and then fled about a mile before taking his own life, authorities said.

The victim was identified as Armando Ballesteros, 53, of San Fernando, who was shot several times at close range and died at the scene, said Det. Mike Oppelt of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The gunman was identified as Philip Charles Goins, 52, who lived part-time at a Sylmar trailer park with his mother, authorities said.

Police said they did not know the motive for the shooting at the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills. “It is not clear what the relationship is between the” men,” said Philip Thomas, chief executive of the VA’s Health Care System for Greater Los Angeles.

The gunman shot Ballesteros about 11:45 a.m. near the entrance of a building that police said houses a drug treatment center.

The gunman fled the scene in a car, said Lt. Jerry Nicholson. He headed north on Haskell Avenue for several blocks to Devonshire Street before colliding with another car driven by an elderly man.

The suspect then jumped out of his car and ran into a nearby yard, although “he had what appeared to be self-inflicted gun wounds,” Nicholson said.

The man was captured and taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Granada Hills, where he was pronounced dead, said Sgt. Mike Klein. The driver of the struck car was not seriously injured, said Nicholson.

The outpatient drug facility at the Sepulveda center mostly functions as a methadone clinic, said Beverly Fitzgerald, a VA spokeswoman. The entire Sepulveda facility, which opened in 1956, provides outpatient care for 17,000 veterans.

VA volunteer Herb Apfel said more patients are usually at the center. But on Wednesday, many were on a trip to Knott’s Berry Farm to celebrate an early Veterans Day.

The grounds of the center were formerly home to a major veterans hospital damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The hospital was demolished and the outpatient center was opened in 1996.

The shooting occurred one day before Veterans Day, but Thomas said there would be no change in local plans for Veterans Day observances.

“This is a random act of violence and a tragedy and it is indeed unfortunate.” he said. “But the Veterans Day observances still need to occur.”

Times staff writers David Colker, Andrew Blankstein, Irene Garcia and Karen Robinson-Jacobs contributed to this story.