Details From Rancho Tehama Shootings Come into Focus

We are finally learning details surrounding the seemingly random acts of violence that occurred in the small town of Rancho Tehama yesterday.  Naturally immediately after the incident(s), information was sketchy at best as police tried putting the pieces of complex crime scenes together.  All we really knew was that several people were killed and children at an elementary school were targeted - perhaps simply because he was driving by.  Yesterday, law enforcement officials stated that the believed this may have began with a "domestic dispute".  A neighbor of the man believed to be the gunman spoke to media yesterday and said there was an ongoing "neighborhood dispute" between he and the neighbor he identified only as "Kevin".  It was impossible to believe all this violence was the result of a neighborhood dispute but not much else had been reported.

Kevin Neal

What we now know is the shooter was 44 year old Kevin Janson Neal of Bobcat Lane.  We know many of the 911 calls were initiated from that area.  Neal killed 4 adults before opening fire at random on children at Corning Union Elementary School.  Thankfully none of the children or teachers were killed, however several children were injured badly enough to require air lifts out of the area. 

It appears Neal's initial target was indeed his wife who has not been publicly named by officials (to my knowledge).  The Sheriff's Department attempted to locate Neal's wife - even going as far to "ping" her cellphone.  Unfortunately everyones worse fears were realized when they searched the Neals' residence and found his wife deceased in the home. It appears Neal killed her the night before and cut a hole out of their floor in some crude attempt to hide the body.

We know early Tuesday morning he got into his car and went on a shooting spree.  Among the 4 other adults shot & killed, one of the deceased was a female neighbor he had been accused of attacking during an "ongoing dispute". It sounds like Mr. Neal had disputes with more than one neighbor.  Shortly after Tuesdays incident began, Neal shot and killed two more neighbors and stole a pickup truck and drove through the small town and fired at will.

We know Neal was armed with a semi-automatic rifle and pistol from the reports yesterday.  While driving through town, he ended up behind a Ford 250 pickup truck driven by a mother and her son.  He fired 8 rounds into the truck, seriously injuring both mother and son.  The woman was on her way to drop her son off to school.  She had a concealed weapon permit, but never had time to draw the weapon to defend herself and her son.  

Thankfully this was a small town, because by the time Neal arrived at the school in the stolen pickup the school was already on "lockdown".  That didn't deter Neal - he rammed the truck through the gates and began firing into the school.  As far as I know one child was shot in the foot and chest but is expected to recover.  If the school hadn't been heard about what was happening and wasn't  prepared or it could have been a lot worse.

After busting through the gates of the school, Neal reportedly calmly stepped out of the truck and began randomly shooting.  It doesn't appear he had any particular target(s) in mind - just your basic act of domestic terror.  After his attempt to kill innocent elementary school kids failed, Neal sought other targets and he found them.

Neal began following a couple driving down the street and deliberately hit them. As the couple exited the vehicle, he shot both of them.  The woman died but the man survived the shooting.  A good Samaritan who witnessed the accident and shooting pulled over to help; Neal took aim at him as well and shot at him however he was able to escape on foot before Neal stole his car.

Neal's crime spree wasn't over yet - he was in the process of pursuing his next target and attempted to ram that car and shoot into it when law enforcement finally caught up with him.  A gunfight ensued and finally it was over. Neal was shot dead by a sheriff's deputy.  What a story.  The thing that stands out to me out of all I just wrote is that we still don't know what the original dispute with his wife was that set this into motion.  His wife was believed to be his first victim so she can't contribute to the motive - however hopefully she told somebody in her life what was happening at home.  

Solely based on what has been reported, it seems that Neal was a hot headed time bomb ready to explode.  He had troubles with his wife, he was feuding with his neighbors. I'm willing to bet there's an employer out there who is breathing a sigh of relief that they weren't on his hit list.  Or perhaps he was a normal man who just lost it?

Mass Shooting Rocks Small Northern CA Town - Rancho Tehama

Rancho Tehama Elementary School  (Photo by Google screenshot)

Another mass shooting has occurred.  It feels like every day there are reports of similar senseless shooting all around our country.  When is this going to end? Have we seen enough to saddle our outrage into political action and put the pressure on the people who can actually help change the gun laws?  I know it sounds cliche, but if we all ban together I truly do believe we can make a difference. Something has to be done - the worst thing we can do is wait around for somebody else to take action.

Although calls began flooding 911 operators just after 8AM this morning reporting shots fired, details about the shooter and motive are still very sketchy.  It's unclear to me if law enforcement is holding back information or they are more than likely still trying to piece together as many as 7 crime scenes.  The most specific information I've come across comes from a man named Brian Flint who believes the gunman is his neighbor - a felon identified only as "Kevin".

Apparently there has been an ongoing neighborhood feud between the two for some time.  Flint told the media that recently Kevin had been firing off "hundreds and hundreds" of gunshot rounds.  They believe he is crazy.  It's unclear if the shooting incidents were ever reported to the police.  Flint also says he was the target of near constant harassment by "Kevin" which made living near him "hell".  Flint's truck was allegedly stolen and his roommate was injured in the shooting.  Could this be the "domestic" issue law enforcement believes started the spree?

The shooter took off and drove around the small community, reportedly firing rounds out of the window of the vehicle he was driving.  The shots and victims appeared to be random but that has not been confirmed. Phil Johnston with the Rancho Tehame County Sheriff's Department  reported their department received multiple calls for shots fired in the area of Bobcat Lane and Fawny Lane in the city of Corning.

After the initial shooting incident occurred and the suspect was fleeing while continuing to shoot out of his vehicle, he encountered two responding officers and a gunfight ensued in which the suspect was killed by one of the officers.  I'm sure many more details will be released throughout the news cycle and we should know a lot more by tomorrow. 

Rancho Tehama is a tiny town approximately 120 miles from Sacramento.  The last census information available puts their population at just 1,485 residents  The Sheriff's Department believes there may be up to seven crime scenes involved in today's incident.  One crime scene that HAS been all over the news was an elementary school where thankfully no children were killed (*at the time of this writing) however several children were injured badly enough to be airlifted out to a hospital.  No names have been released of the injured at this time.

What else do we know?  

• 5 people were reportedly killed, including the gunman
• as many as 10 people were injured, including children at the school
• the shooting reportedly began around 8AM on Tuesday morning
• a semi-automatic rifle and 2 handguns used in the shooting were recovered 
• law enforcement has as many as 100 personnel working in Rancho Tehama on this incident
• multiple witnesses reported hearing over 100 gunshots during the incident(s)
• a woman and man were found shot in the road; believed to be driving ahead of and shot by the gunman near the school.  The woman is believed to have died from her injuries at the scene
• Several parents dropping their children off for school reportedly witnessed the shooting as it unfolded

One such witness named Coy Ferreria who is a father of an elementary school student told KCRC News Channel 7 that while dropping off his daughter at school he heard the shots begin to be fired.  School officials were hurrying students into classrooms where Ferreria followed. He quickly realized bullets were being fired through the windows of the crowded classroom he was trapped in.  One boy was hit in the foot and chest by gunfire.

Another parent was dropping his three children off at school when he saw the gunman begin shooting at the truck in front of him.  He quickly put the car in reverse and told his children to get down and he drove to safety.  As he was driving away he reportedly saw a woman lying dead in the street with a man who was injured next to her.

This information seems sketchy at best.  It seems a lot of pertinent information is missing from the story.  This really couldn't be the result of a neighbor on neighbor dispute could it?  It's a sad reality that many times a small thing can escalate and quickly spiral out of control, but this doesn't seem like that.  If so, why did the gunman continue to drive around shooting at other seemingly random targets?

There isn't enough concrete information to go on at this time to tell this story, however it's another example of the human toll that gun violence is taking on our communities.  Haven't we seen enough of these makeshift memorial scenes, with candles, flowers, cards, stuffed animals, crying and praying for the dead and injured?

The debate goes on.  Those who strongly believe and support the right to bear arms contend that PEOPLE kill, not guns. That statement is not false, but it's not as simple as that.  Many of these mass shootings are being done using stolen weapons, weapons bought illegally or on the black market etc.  Many of the weapons have been illegally modified in order to deliver more shots in less time or in silence.  Some of the ammunition being used by the bad guys is to inflict as much damage to the inside of the human body that recovery is a long shot.  

I personally believe we have the right to own a gun for our protection should we feel the need to do so.  Guns aren't necessarily bad.  Guns in the wrong hands is part of the problem. Modified and illegal guns are part of the problem. Illegal ammunition is part of the problem.  I could go on and on but I won't.  Let's pray for better days and put our heads together to fight for change.am