CA Shooter Kevin Neal was out on bail for stabbing neighbor at the time of mass shooting

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Sometimes our justice system seems to fail us miserably.  As we are discovering more information about mass shooter Kevin Neal, it has been reported that at the time of the shooting he was out on $160,000 bail for allegedly stabbing a neighbor.  Think this is part of that "neighborhood feud" we've been hearing about?  Even more outrageous is that Neal was supposed to be prohibited from owning guns.  Not that any court ruling or piece of paper is going to stop someone determined to get their hands on a gun or guns.

Earlier this year Neal was ordered to give up his weapons as part of a protective order filed on behalf of two female neighbors he had confrontations with in January.  District Attorney Gregg Cohen was prosecuting him on several charges related to the January incident.  This was a violent confrontation with Neal allegedly shooting at the female neighbors and stabbing one of thembefore holding them hostage!  I'm at a loss at how the bail amount was set at $160,000.  Seems it should have been made sufficient to see he remained in jail until trial.  But it wasn't - and he didn't.  Instead, he exacted revenge on the people he felt slighted by.  I suppose it depends on what exactly he was charged with, but even aggravated assault and kidnapping should have had a much higher bail amount.  The judge had to know Mr. Neal lived near his victims - and any no contact order wasn't going to have any effect on his desire for retribution towards those women.

I'm not sure of the police procedure for a defendant to "surrender" their firearms - what happened with Neal's guns? It's entirely possible he did surrender them because the guns found after he was killed were not registered to him.  According to law enforcement officials the weapons had been modified.  This is another huge problem the gun manufacturers must take seriously.  They should put more research and development dollars into making sure their guns are not easily modified.  I don't know a lot about guns, but there are a lot of brilliant people out there who I'm certain could at least make it more challenging to modify.

There are so many troubling things about this story.  It seems the justice system in our country generally works, but not for the wild card madman who is hell bent on taking people down.  The only real way for this to have been prevented would have been to make his bail high enough to where he would have remained there until trial.  Letting him out was a mistake, even though he was entitled to some type of bail. Let's face it, the bail amount seems to be the biggest blunder here.  Had it been a higher amount, cash only type of thing maybe those people would still be alive today.  That may not be fair of me to say, but it's what I'm thinking.

Newsweek called Neal "another angry white man with a record of violence against women".  That sums it up.  Newsweek is also reporting that in addition to the January incident with the two neighbors, Neal was arrested in February for assault with a deadly weapon, battery, crimes against the elderly or dependent adult and for "discharging his firearm with gross negligence".  Wait, wasn't he supposed to have surrendered his firearms under the January protective order?  That second "incident" should have been grounds to revoke his bail shouldn't it have? 

How many times have you heard about a woman who was killed after getting a protective order?  It's well known that it's the most dangerous time for the victim once the order has been granted.  For some people, that just lights their fuse.  Seems Neal's fuse was lit and finally blew.

Kevin Neal

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