Indiana man pleads guilty in shooting at Chicago VA hospital

CHICAGO (AP) - An Indianapolis man accused of opening fire at a Chicago veterans hospital in 2019 pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal gun charge.

Bernard Harvey Jr., 43, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of an assault rifle. He now faces a likely prison sentence of three to five years, according to lawyers in the case. A federal judge set Harvey's sentencing hearing for early May, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Harvey was arrested after he fired 'œnumerous rifle shots both inside and outside" of the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, according to a court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Rubenstein.

'œFortunately, nobody was hit,'ť Rubenstein wrote.

Harvey admitted during Tuesday's hearing that on Aug. 12, 2019, he fired an assault rifle 'œseveral times while outside'ť the hospital.

The rifle used by Harvey, who has multiple prior felony convictions, was reported stolen from a federal firearms licensee in Indiana on July 27, 2019, according to a federal complaint.

Federal court records show Harvey has been held in custody since the shooting while attorneys have struggled to restore and maintain his mental competency

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox found in December that Harvey had 'œrecovered to such an extent that he is able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him.'ť