Non-veteran arrested for brining loaded gun into VA hospital

Man charged with taking pistol into Veterans Affairs office in Miss.; mental exam ordered
Associated Press
By HOLBROOK MOHR
October 04, 2013

JACKSON, Mississippi — A man has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after being arrested while acting erratically and walking into a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office in Jackson with a pistol holstered on his side.

A criminal complaint says Joseph Namihira was told to leave the VA Regional Office on Wednesday morning, but returned later with a .45-caliber pistol. Court records said Namihira was charged with domestic violence in Warren County, Mississippi, last year after physically attacking his mother and firing about 25 shots at his father.

Authorities say Namihira is not a veteran and that his intentions at the VA were not clear.

The regional office processes benefits and is located near the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center.

Namihira appeared in U.S. District Court in Jackson on Thursday and was ordered held without bond pending action by the grand jury and a psychiatric evaluation.

His lawyer, Penny Beckwith Lawson, did not immediately respond to a phone call Friday.

Jim Theres, a VA spokesman, said it's not clear what Namihira intended to do, but he praised VA police for acting quickly to defuse the situation, especially in light of recent events like the Washington Navy Yard shooting.
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