RELATED: Officials: 3 hostages, gunman dead after day-long standoff at Yountville veterans home
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The gunman, identified as 36-year-old Albert Wong, was a military veteran. Armed with a rifle, he stormed an office at the veterans home and shot the three hostages, and then turned the gun on himself.
Authorities say Wong was a former soldier and patient of the workers.
Department of Defense officials said Wong was a decorated U.S. soldier who served on active duty from May 2010 to August 2013. He spent a year in Afghanistan. Records obtained Friday said Wong was awarded four medals, including an Afghanistan campaign medal with two campaign stars in the infantry during his years of active service in the U.S. Army.
He was also awarded an Expert Marksmanship Badge with Rifle.
"At 6 p.m. we made entry into a room where hostages were held and found three deceased and the suspect," said CHP Assistant Chief Chris Childs at an evening press conference.
Officials say the incident occurred inside building G, the offices for the Pathway Home Program -- a nonprofit that treats Iraq war veterans for PTSD.
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RELATED: Victims, gunman identified in Yountville veterans home shooting tragedy
Friday morning, employees were having a going-away party for a coworker.
"There was cake and ice cream," said Larry Kamer, whose wife works at the Pathway Home Program. "Celebration -- when a man walked in with a gun. My wife and several others were able to leave."
But three women were taken hostage. North Bay Senator Bill Dodd confirms the suspect had been recently treated by officials at Pathway Home.
For hours, the sprawling campus was on lockdown as SWAT teams surrounded the building. Initially, a Napa County sheriff's deputy exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The officer was not hurt. It's unknown if the suspect was hit during the exchange.
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"We credit him with saving the lives of others, by eliminating the suspect's ability to search for more victims," Childs said of the deputy.
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The suspect's rental car was found parked at the veterans home, and was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs who found nothing.
The investigation into why the suspect targeted the three victims is ongoing.
Click here for full coverage on the deadly shooting at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.