Vet who killed himself at Warren VA clinic had severe PTSD, wife says

VINDICATOR EXCLUSIVE

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The wife of the military veteran who killed himself Friday inside the U.S. Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic on Tod Avenue says he suffered for years with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He wrote that the demons in his head would not give him peace,” she said Tuesday of a suicide note he wrote two years ago.

But the note also expressed in clear terms how much he loved his family.

“He poured out love for his wife and children,” she said. “Seeing that letter hurt me so much two years ago, but it helped me this weekend because of knowing the strength of his love and devotion without question,” she said.

“His family supported him throughout his turmoil,” she added.

The 53-year-old Vienna man was a 23-year veteran of the Air Force Reserves, having been honored 31 times with medals, including the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

On Friday, he shot himself to death while at the clinic for an appointment. No one else was injured.

When asked for more details regarding the incident, a spokeswoman for the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center said additional details were being withheld for privacy reasons. A Warren police detective said Monday he had just been assigned to the case and didn’t have more details.

The Vindicator is withholding the veteran’s name.

Herm Breuer, director of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission, said he knew the veteran.

Breuer said veterans “are extremely proud people who find it difficult to process their pain. They find it difficult to reach out and ask for help. It’s an unfortunate circumstance here where you have a veteran who did reach out for help, was getting the help he needed, but unfortunately all of the help in the world wasn’t enough for this gentleman.”

Breuer said PTSD is a “reaction to a stressful incident. The majority of veterans who experience PTSD can experience it in a number of ways,” including withdrawal, he said.

Warren police said the outpatient clinic does not use metal detectors to screen for weapons, but it does have security guards, and weapons are prohibited at all federal facilities.

“Anyone entering a federal facility is subject to search. If there is suspicion that someone on our property has a weapon or unauthorized substance, local and VA police are contacted to respond,” said Kristen Parker, chief of external affairs at the Stokes center.

After an Iraq War veteran shot and killed a psychologist inside an El Paso, Texas, VA clinic in 2015, the VA’s police force renewed what the Washington Post called its long-running calls for increased resources.

Among the resources were metal detectors.