Massachusetts

California Shooting Victim's Father: ‘She Was a Great Kid'

The father of a Massachusetts native killed in a hostage standoff in Northern California says he knew right away that his daughter was among those held by a gunman.

Donald Loeber says his daughter, Christine Loeber, the executive director of the Pathway Home, was dedicated to helping veterans. When news reports of the standoff broke, Loeber said he feared the worst.

"She was a great kid," Loeber told NBC10 Boston. "She loved what she was doing. It killed her, but she was a great kid."

Loeber was one of three women killed Friday after a more than six-hour hostage standoff at a veterans center in Yountville, California.

Loeber graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a communications degree in 1991, according to Erika Mantz, a spokesperson for UNH.

Mantz said of Loeber in a statement to NBC10 Boston that "the university was devastated to learn she was a victim of such a senseless tragedy. The thoughts and prayers of our entire Wildcat community are with her family and friends."

Loeber then went on to earn her Master's degree from Boston College, according to the Pathway Home website.

In a statement to NBC10 Boston, Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn confirmed Loeber was a 2008 graduate of the Boston College School of Social Work.

Dunn went on to say Loeber "distinguished herself at BC as a gifted student who was passionate about serving veterans. The prayers of the entire BC community are with the Loeber family in the wake of this senseless tragedy."

Dr. Jen Golick, the clinical director of the Pathway Home, and Dr. Jennifer Gonzales, a psychologist, were also killed in the shooting.

It's not clear if the three victims were targeted or chosen at random.

The gunman, identified as 36-year-old Albert Wong from Sacramento, is also dead.

Wong, a former Army rifleman, served a year in Afghanistan in 2011-2012. He was a former patient at the facility where the shooting happened, according to the sheriff's office.

The Pathway Home is a non-profit post-traumatic stress disorder program at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville in the Napa Valley wine country region.

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