Shooting incident involved Iraq vet, PTSD

Shooting incident involved Iraq vet, PTSD
By LYDA LONGA, Staff Writer

Iraq veteran Joshua Gerard was discharged from the Army last year, but the fighting never stopped within him, his family said Tuesday.

That inner struggle -- fueled by post-traumatic stress disorder and bouts of heavy drinking -- came to a head Sunday night when sheriff's officials said Gerard, 29, pointed a shotgun at Sgt. Vidal Mejias.

The sergeant, a 15-year-veteran of the Sheriff's Office, shot Gerard in the abdomen and the elbow. A Gerard family spokeswoman said Tuesday that Gerard is in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

Gerard's father, Jim Gerard of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday afternoon the bottom line with his son and others like him is that these young veterans are not seeking the help they need for emotional issues prompted by war.

"Our family is deeply saddened and stunned by the events that transpired on the evening of May 9 when our beloved husband, father and son, Joshua Gerard, reached the end of his mental and emotional rope," Jim Gerard said. "Joshua did not receive the adequate care he needed to recover, cope and once again become part of civilian life."
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Shooting incident involved Iraq vet PTSD