Marine Iraq veteran shot by police getting help from VA

Shooting suspect Gene Vela to receive Veteran Affairs treatment
The Daily Texan
BY LIZZIE JESPERSEN
November 13, 2013

Gene Vela, public affairs graduate student and suspect in an armed standoff Sunday with the Austin Police Department, plans to receive Veteran Affairs treatment following his arrest, according to his lawyer, Adam Reposa.

Vela, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq in 2002, was taken into custody the day after being shot in the torso by police. He was shot after alledgedly aiming a handgun equipped with a laser at two policemen through his apartment window in North Campus. Police were originally summoned to his apartment following a 911 call from a friend of Vela’s.

“I got shot, I shook it off; they could shoot me ten times, and I won’t care,” Vela said in an official statement, according to Reposa.

Reposa said Vela has been strained by post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological stressors have affected his recent decisions.

“He is an honest, intelligent and hardworking human being,” Reposa said. “Obviously, this is all a terrible misunderstanding. He served our country. I’m sure this will all get worked out.”
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