VA institutes new policy aimed at stopping vets from hiding guns in wheelchairs

For many veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs can be a source of seemingly limitless frustration. Long wait times, understaffed facilities, and miles of red tape are just some of the barriers between veterans and the care they seek. As a result, a rash of gun-related incidents has plagued VA facilities in recent months. Notably, three veterans shot themselves on VA grounds over the span of just three weeks earlier this year, but it was a different incident that has prompted the newest addition to the VA’s security practices.

From now on, veterans who arrive at VA medical centers in wheelchairs will be required to leave their chairs and switch to ones provided by the medical facility. This new policy was adopted as a result of an incident at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in Florida in February, in which a double-amputee produced a small hidden firearm from his wheelchair and opened fire in the VA emergency room. One doctor was hit in the neck and at least two other staff members were injured as the patient fired off six rounds from the pistol. That same doctor, despite his wound, managed to subdue the shooter and separate him from his firearm until law enforcement arrived.

That same facility also saw a veteran suicide on its grounds that same month.