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Veterans Affairs employee airlifted after being shot at Georgia VA clinic. The suspect is dead

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A Veterans Affairs clinic employee was shot in Jasper, Georgia, on
Tuesday, and the suspected shooter has been killed by law enforcement, a
Veterans Affairs spokesperson said. 

The shooting was reported at about 1 p.m. at the Pickens County VA
Clinic, Jasper Police Chief Matt Dawkins said. Jasper is about 60 miles
north of downtown Atlanta. 

When officers arrived, they confronted the suspect outside the clinic
and fatally shot them, Dawkins said. 

The clinic employee who was shot was transported by helicopter to a
hospital, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told CNN. Their condition
is unknown. 

What led up to the shooting is still unclear, and authorities are
determining what connection, if any, the suspect had to the clinic. 

The suspect has not been publicly identified, but Dawkins said they are
a local resident. 

The clinic will remain closed for the rest of the week as an
investigation is underway, Kasperowicz said. 

“VA is rescheduling appointments as necessary and ensuring Veterans and
staff have access to counseling and chaplain services in the wake of
this tragic event,” Kasperowicz said. 

The FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation will investigate the
incident, Dawkins said. Both agencies were on the scene Tuesday, which
had been cordoned off with yellow tape and walls of law enforcement
vehicles. The VA’s Office of Inspector General will assist with the
investigation. 

Within minutes of the gunfire, dozens of local and state law enforcement
vehicles swarmed the shopping center where the clinic is located, an
employee of a nearby appliance repair store told CNN. 

Sam Parker, the owner of North Georgia TV Repair, saw “cops coming in by
the scores.” 

“The place was swarming and they had tactical vests on, you know. They
had their bulletproof vests, their guns drawn and everything,” Parker
said. 

The 69-year-old founded his shop in 2001 and said he has never seen
anything like this incident happen in Jasper. 

Law enforcement appeared to chase someone around the side of the
neighboring Goodwill store, Parker said. 

A customer inside the Goodwill, Jimmy Mooney, was shopping for something
to cheer up his wife, who he said was sick at home. Mooney was browsing
the electronics aisle when the chaos unfolded, he told CNN affiliate
WXIA. 

Someone shouted for everyone to run to the back of the Goodwill, and
Mooney said he looked out the window and saw police running and firing
at someone around the side of the store. 

Later, he realized a bullet had pierced the store and struck the wall
where he had been standing just moments before. It is not clear whether
the shot was fired by the suspect or law enforcement. 

Some people rushed to lock the front doors and hold the back doors
closed, he said. Mooney huddled with other shoppers, including a mother
and her two children, in a corner in the back of the store for what he
said felt like an hour. 

Finally, police told shoppers they were safe to leave. Mooney left the
store, leaving behind two angel figurines he had found for his wife. 

“Everybody’s real friendly out here. You wouldn’t think nothing like
that would happen, but you never know,” Mooney told WXIA. 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/17/us/georgia-veterans-affairs-clinic-shootin
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Veterans Affairs employee airlifted after being shot at Georgia VA clinic. The suspect is dead J D <j_d@invalid.org> - 2026-03-18 02:20 +0000

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