Deluzio Calls for Answers After Tragic Veteran Suicide Inside Western PA VA Medical Center 

 

CARNEGIE, PA — Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) sent a letter to VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Director Donald Koenig calling for answers after a veteran died by suicide with a gun on the campus of the H. John Heinz III VA Medical Center on October 10, 2023. His letter asks key questions to help determine how this tragedy happened in the O’Hara Township facility, and how we can make sure it never happens again. 

 

A Navy and Iraq War veteran who relies on the VA for his own healthcare, Congressman Deluzio also serves as Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and on the Subcommittee on Health. That is the committee which has legislative, oversight, and investigative jurisdiction over the Veterans Health Administration, including medical services, medical support and compliance, medical facilities, medical and prosthetic research, and major and minor construction. 

 

Rep. Deluzio's letter is linked here, and pasted below: 

 

  

October 20, 2023 

Mr. Donald E. Koenig 

Director 

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System 

1010 Delafield Road 

Pittsburgh, PA 15240-1005 

  

  

Dear Director Koenig: 

  

I was shocked and saddened to learn that a veteran committed suicide with a gun at the H. John Heinz III VA Medical Center on October 10, 2023. I grieve for him and his loved ones. This is a tragedy that should never have happened and must never happen again. Those who took a sacred oath to defend this country deserve the highest standards of care and safety. VA Pittsburgh failed to meet that standard last week.  Accordingly, I request your response by October 30^th to the following questions: 

  

1. How was this veteran able to get a gun onto the campus? 

2. What safety measures, if any, are currently in place at this facility to prevent someone from bringing an unauthorized gun onto the campus? 

3. Will the VA be conducting a systematic review of safety measures, and will the results be made public?  

4. What actions has VA Pittsburgh taken after this failure to prevent someone from bringing an unauthorized gun onto the campus?  

  

The VA has the sacred duty to live up to the promises this country has made to my fellow veterans. When there is a failure, we must understand why—and what is being done to change things. Veterans in Western Pennsylvania deserve to know how VA will prevent tragedies like this from happening again in the future. I look forward to hearing from you on this important matter.   

  

Very respectfully,  

 

Chris Deluzio 

Member of Congress 

 

cc:       The Honorable Denis McDonough, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs 

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