Relatives of Yountville Pathway Home shooting victims will sue for wrongful death

Relatives of the three mental health clinicians who were shot dead by a former client a year ago at the Pathway Home in Yountville have filed wrongful death lawsuits.

The three lawsuits by relatives of Jennifer Golick, Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba and Christine Loeber, who worked for the nonprofit on the grounds of the Veterans Home in Yountville, target different agencies but contain similar allegations. Attorneys argue that the state, local agencies or Pathway could have reacted differently on the day of the attack or done more to have prevented the shootings - especially because the gunman was discharged from the program for threatening the lives of the three women.

The state, county and Pathway declined to comment last week when the suits were filed, citing pending litigation.

All three lawsuits referenced a Sacramento Bee report that said the California Highway Patrol determined in a site assessment that the campus should have a security checkpoint, front gate, fencing, working locks and intercoms.

CHP has previously denied public records requests for this report, claiming exemptions that apply to investigatory records of law enforcement agencies, and to documents that assess an agency’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks or criminal acts.

Attorneys for Theodore Joseph Shushereba, husband of the late Gonzales Shushereba, filed the lawsuit in Napa County Superior Court Wednesday, arguing that the state and nonprofit the Pathway Home could have done more to prevent Shushereba’s death.

Shushereba, 32, was seven months pregnant with daughter Cecilia Rose when she was killed by a former client alongside two coworkers - Loeber, 48, and Golick, 42 - in a shooting at the Pathway Home facility.

Shushereba was employed by the federal San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, but worked at the Pathway Home, which served Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The facility was housed in a building at the Veterans Home that has since closed.

Attorneys for Shushereba’s spouse argue that Pathway had access to 36-year-old gunman Albert Wong’s medical records and knew that he had a history of homicidal and suicidal thoughts. Pathway knew that Wong was a skilled shooter and threatened Shushereba’s life, but did not contact police or law enforcement about the threats, the lawsuit said.

Noting that other veterans with PTSD have gone on shooting sprees, the lawsuit said the state failed to implement basic security measures.

A lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Loeber’s parents, Donald and Marie Loeber, was similar to the Golicks’ lawsuit. The Loebers took aim at the county, Sheriff’s Office, the state Veterans Affairs Department, Veterans Homes of California, the Yountville Veterans campus and the state Department of General Services.

Loeber was Pathway’s executive director.

Residents on the campus included veterans who were aggressive or violent, struggled to control their impulses and possibly had access to weapons, the lawsuit said.

The state veterans department, known as CalVet, should have installed security cameras, silent alarm distress signals, working door locks and a surveillance system that alerted someone to the gunman’s entry, the lawsuit said. There were too many doors to the building that housed the Pathway Home for a facility dedicated to treating veterans with PTSD, the lawsuit said.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office, which was responsible for law enforcement services to the campus, had also recognized the possibility of an active shooter at the Veterans Home, the lawsuit said. It referenced a Register article about an active shooter training conducted by the FBI for the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, two months earlier.