An armed, male veteran entered the VA Outpatient Clinic in The Villages on Tuesday morning and fired shots in an examination room. No one was seriously injured.
The man has been taken into custody. You can read more about the suspect HERE
The FBI was called in to investigate the situation.
The man walked into the lobby at about 9 a.m. at the clinic at 8900 SE 165th Mulberry Lane. He knocked on the door of an examination room and once inside, pointed a firearm and fired at a doctor in the room. Another staffer was able to intervene and prevented the doctor from being harmed by the armed man.
The suspect pointed an AM-15 rifle at the doctor and said “Now you’re going to have to listen to me,” according to a criminal complaint.
Each magazine contained 26 rounds of ammunition. The magazines had been taped together to facilitate faster reloading of the rifle.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Marion County Fire Rescue soon arrived on the scene, bringing their bomb squad and HAZMAT units.
Personnel were evacuated from the building, but allowed back in early Tuesday afternoon.
The clinic was shut down for the remainder of the day, but was expected to reopen on Wednesday.
