Man gets 17 years for shooting at Florida veterans clinic

OCALA, Fla. – A man convicted of firing a gun in a Florida veterans clinic has been sentenced to 17 years and three months in federal prison.

Court records show that 63-year-old Stephen Cometa was sentenced Thursday in Ocala federal count. He was convicted in December of assaulting federal employees and discharging a firearm.

Prosecutors say Cometa was carrying a semi-automatic rifle, a concealed handgun and additional loaded magazines in December 2016 when he entered a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in The Villages.

Officials say Cometa walked went to a psychiatrist’s office, pointed the rifle at the doctor and said, “Now, you’re going to have to listen to me!”

The psychiatrist, a VA contractor and two VA police officers subdued Cometa.

Authorities say Cometa fired his rifle several times but no one was wounded.