Gunman surrenders to police at VA medical center in Topeka, Kan., trades ammo for cigarettes

TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials say a gunman who entered a Veterans Affairs medical center in Topeka, Kan., surrendered without hurting anyone and is now a patient at the hospital.

Veterans Affairs spokesman James Gleisberg said the man is a U.S. military veteran who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He says the man had pulled out a gun and threatened himself Sunday in the emergency room of Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center. No one was hurt.

Neither Gleisberg nor Topeka police could say why the gunman eventually surrendered.

Gleisberg also said he couldn’t provide more details about the man, including what type of care he is receiving and whether he had been a patient of the VA in the past, citing federal privacy laws.

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