DIXON – Mark Hess makes no bones about his position on concealed carry of guns: He’s for it.

But the 54-year-old Dixon resident comes with a special perspective on the issue. On June 20, 1994, he was a victim in a mass shooting at an Air Force hospital near Spokane, Wash. Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force serviceman with mental health issues, killed five people and wounded 22.

A few months before, Sgt. Hess had taken early retirement from the Air Force. On the day of the shooting, he had a doctor’s appointment. He went to another building to pick up his medical records when, on his way out, he saw the gun-wielding Mellberg.