FBI agents were questioning hundreds of patients of the Veterans Affairs medical center in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, seeking witnesses to a shooting that left one person and the gunman dead. The shooter opened fire Tuesday at the clinic which serves the El Paso area and Fort Bliss, home to the Army’s 1st Armored Division before turning the gun on himself. Neither the gunman nor the victim were identified.
The clinic was closed Wednesday after becoming a crime scene, with the FBI leading the investigation into a motive for the crime. “I want to make sure that everyone is aware that we have hundreds of potential witnesses and we are processing those right now,” Douglas Lindquist, special agent in charge of the FBI’s El Paso office, told a news conference late Tuesday. “Those people were here seeking medical assistance, so we understand the difficulties that this situation presents to them.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened by the tragic situation,” adding: “The safety and continued care of our veterans and the staff will be our focus.”
