Fatigues-clad vet kills self in Ohio

Authorities: Fatigues-clad vet kills self in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio - An Army veteran wearing military fatigues shot and killed himself Friday with an assault rifle on the steps of a Veterans Affairs medical center where he had been a patient, authorities said.

Police found an assault rifle and a backpack near the body of Jesse Huff, 27, of Dayton, which was on the steps of the Dayton VA center's main entrance Friday morning, police Sgt. Dan Mauch said.

Mauch said police found no explosives in the backpack or in Huff's van that was parked nearby. The bomb squad detonated the backpack.

"We didn't want to take any chances," Mauch said.

Mauch said police had no idea about a possible motive and that Huff's relatives had been notified. He would not release names of Huff's family members.

Huff entered the Army April 15, 2003 as an infantryman and was promoted to the rank of specialist in 2005 before being discharged on June 15, 2007, said Army spokesman Wayne Hall.

Huff had been a patient at the center and was seen in the center's emergency room around 1 a.m. Friday, said VA center spokeswoman Donna Simmons.

Simmons said she could not share any of Huff's medical information or say how long he had been a patient at the center. Simmons said no military information about Huff could be released other than the branch in which he served.

No one else was injured in the shooting, Simmons said.

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