Homicide-Suicide at American HomePatient Leaves Three Dead

HARRISONBURG, Va.–An American HomePatient employee shot two
co-workers to death Tuesday morning before turning the gun on
himself, authorities said.

The gunman, Brewer Hoover Jr., 65, of Harrisonburg, and victims
Gary Gibson, 54, of Harrisonburg, and Bonnie Crump, 54, of
Grottoes, were transported to a nearby hospital and later
pronounced dead, police said.

According to authorities, Hoover took a .38-caliber revolver and
a .40-caliber semi-automatic weapon to the American HomePatient
retail store where he worked at about 8 a.m. Tuesday, barricaded
himself in the HME and started shooting.

An hour later, 26 officers surrounded the store, located in the
Town Center strip mall, and a negotiation team began talking to
Hoover over the phone. But after he cut off communications, a SWAT
team closed in, and Hoover shot himself in the head, police
said.

The shootings were work-related, authorities said, and an
investigation is continuing. According to local news reports,
Hoover had worked at the branch office, one of nine American
HomePatient locations in Virginia, for 11 years.

“When he was talking to our negotiators, what he said was he was
upset and he was afraid he was going to be fired,” said Lt. Kurt
Boshart, a spokesman for the Harrisonburg Police Department.

Three other employees escaped unharmed before police
arrived.

“Our primary concern is for our Harrisonburg employees and their
families during this difficult time,” said Joseph F. Furlong, CEO
of the Brentwood, Tenn.-based provider, in a statement issued after
the incident. “I would like to express my deepest sympathy for the
families affected by this tragedy.”