The residence of Kevin Janson Neal on Bobcat Lane in Rancho Tehama where he allegedly shot and killed his wife on Monday setting in motion a killing rampage that took the lives of five other . The woman, who had a concealed carry permit, pulled out her own handgun but was unable to fire it before Neal drove away, Johnston said. Woods Jr. first filed for state victim compensation this year. Miles of rolling fields blanketed in faded wild oats and yellow starthistle line the gently curving roads into this isolated enclave an hours drive south of Redding. Plywood covers one of the windows at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, that was shot out during gunman Kevin Janson Neal's shooting rampage at Rancho Tehama Reserve . Steve DuBois lives in Redding. And we still have that sense of 'we can't believe this really happened. 5. . Wythe said he was in his camper with Sammy, Bruehls dog, when he heard gunshots, something he said is common in this region, and not usually a cause for alarm. They were his first victims. "I used to really believe that my job and being a law enforcement officer was to help protect people and I believe that I can't control that. The shootings led to domestic and international debate over the control of ghost guns and gun-licensing law in the United States. There's also lingering frustration with the Tehama County Sheriff's office. From the police logs on February 2, 2017:. A memorial near a fire station in Rancho Tehama Reserve honors the victims of the 2017 mass shooting. [38] The two handguns that Neal possessed during his shooting rampage were not registered to him. A school custodian and the teachers put it into action. He never went back to Rancho Tehama Elementary School after that day, when he and approximately 100 other students were locked down after staffers heard gunfire nearby and quickly hustled them in from recess. [5][18][25][26][27][28] The victims included two students at Rancho Tehama Elementary School and Michelle McFadyen's husband. Kevin Neal killed five people and wounded at least a dozen others before he was shot and killed by authorities in Rancho Tehama Reserve, Calif. Tuesday. He targeted seven locations in the rural community of Rancho Tehama, including an . Sanders felt enraged, and shouted to Neal to shoot in his direction, hoping to distract him from the kids. I arrived at Rancho Tehama Sunday morning, and I left that evening. He said he saw flashes before his eyes with memories of his life the good things hed done, and the bad. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. The 35-year-old tree trimmer is now unemployed and, for now, unable to work because of his wounds. There are terrific days and we're all so thankful," she says. Elliott was Sanders best friend, so it was emotionally difficult for Sanders to speak about Elliott as he shared some background. His life changed that day forever. Tina said that in her gut she knew the location of the gunfire. Viswa Vanapalli. Connor Sheets is an investigative and enterprise reporter at the Los Angeles Times. They watched Neal release the truck from the fence and then speed off, firing more gunshot rounds as he left. We were helping with that for a good two years afterward.. A black and red RANCHO STRONG banner hangs across the entrance to the collection of L-shaped trailers that make up the small Rancho Tehama Elementary School. David said Neal then hid behind some trees and shot Elliott and Steele when the pair came outside. Just a bad person. Kevin Janson Neal. Also in that classroom was Elliotts young son. . At that point Bruehl said he went out front and heard a lot of gunshots a crazy amount of shots fired as he saw Neal trying to free a truck from the gate. "He didn't come to the door so they moved on. Woods Sr. doesnt like to complain. Source: Tehama County Sheriff. 'No.' The attack in Rancho Tehama, . The New York Post reports the following day, he donned a ballistic vest, grabbed a semiautomatic rifle and two handguns and went on a 45-minute rampage across Rancho Tehama Reserve. Officials say Kevin Hanson Neal, 43, began firing at 7.52am on Tuesday. What Im reporting here today is what I saw and heard during my visit. According to Elliotts stepbrother David (who requested we not publish his last name or photo), the gate was open, making it easy for Neal to get onto their property. When Kevin Janson Neal, 44, began what authorities described as a "murderous rampage" in a neighborhood in Tehama County about 130 miles north of Sacramento, his father, his father's girlfriend . Because Eliott had listed Sanders on school forms as the person to call in case of an emergency, after Sanders was released by officers he was notified to pick up Elliotts son from the community recreation center where the kids were bused from the school after the shooting. Its been reported by various media that at some point during Neals shooting rampage, he rammed the stolen truck into a car on the road. Jessie Sanders was grazed by one of Kevin Neals bullets. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Francisco Cardenas was driving to the post office a few minutes from his house that morning when he was caught between deputies in hot pursuit and the shooter. [1] He handed over a single pistol and attested that he had no other guns. Jose shared some good news: His nephew was recently released from the hospital. On Nov. 14, 2017, a shooter killed five people and wounded several others in the rural Northern California town of Rancho Tehama. Among . It's crazy.". Barely a week earlier, a shooter killed 25 people and an unborn child and injured 22 others at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. [29], The day before the shootings, Neal called his mother to tell her he was "fed up" with his neighbors, whom he suspected of making methamphetamine. [4][25][26][27][28] Two handguns and another AR-15-type rifle were recovered near his body. Meanwhile, one man described how there are basically five bad guys in Rancho Tehama, though he knew better than to identify them by name. . Sanders was released. 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The result is multiple stories, many of them second- and even third-hand; some of them conflicting. Both Ferreira and Sanders also saw Troy McFadyen, shot in the leg, sitting on the road beside his deceased wife. A man reported that his truck was stolen and his roommate was shot and . He hid her body beneath the floor of their home. California, November 16 . [22], Governor Jerry Brown, and his wife Anne, offered condolences to all the victims and their families, saying, "Anne and I are saddened to hear about today's violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren. [9][8], Eleven other peoplesix adults and five childrenwere also shot, but survived. Lobdell immediately called for every child and teacher to go inside, fast, and get into lock down mode they'd practiced. [11] The woman was shot five times, four near her heart. [10][4] Following his release, Neal continued to harass the neighbors, causing them to successfully seek a restraining order that required him to surrender his firearms and not purchase additional guns. Methinks this explains wee Patrick's attempt to change the oath for county employees. Not everyone who lives in Rancho Tehama knows exactly what happened. And then that man can even threaten to kill his neighbors, and eventually make good on his threats, and then some. Kevin Janson Neal and his wife lived at the end of the road, at the bottom of a ravine, in a battered baby-blue trailer home with a front yard full of broken-down cars . She told how, as she drove up the road toward home, she saw her brother Sanders walking along the road. Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Crye (252), Win-River Casino Expansion: One Step(4,634), Gateway School District Update: Clif(3,529), Comment on Against Ad Hoc Committee Advice, New State California Secessionist Chriss Street May Be Countys CEO by Jolly, Comment on Against Ad Hoc Committee Advice, New State California Secessionist Chriss Street May Be Countys CEO by George Winship. I drove to the Rancho Tehama Reserve Sunday in hopes of learning more about Neals victims, and understanding more about how something so horrific could have happened. School officials heard gunshots and made a critical decision to lock it down. [29][39] One of the neighbors involved in the January 31 incident later became one of those killed in the shootings. As she drove away, she heard something a gunshot or a firecracker. Sandra Wells's 5-year-old daughter is happily back at school. They were mothers, sons and wives. Krystal Squires, 15, left, and sister Angalene Laurence, 12, were students at Rancho Tehama Elementary. Jessie said it was the type of experience people talk about when theyre dying. RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. (AP) A Northern California man killed two neighbors with whom he had been feuding before he went on a shooting . After a couple of more tries Nelson finally got through and was told 911 was getting a lot of calls. Four years after a gunman shot up her high school, a young journalist finds herself writing about mass shootings again. Neils life and rampage ended in a barrage of gunfire. During this time, Bruehl was oblivious to what was happening outside. Target practice; hunters; the odd drunk shooting at the moon. Sanders moved out. Jessie Sanders, 44, near where Kevin Janson Neal drove his truck into Rancho Tehama Elementary Schools fence. Officers recovered one semi- automatic rifle and two handguns. The Record Searchlight reported: "A helicopter medical crew reported they were transporting a 6-year-old victim to Mercy Medical Center in Redding. I met one man who lives in a hill-top home surrounded by beautiful vistas. Gunman Kevin Janson Neal is believed to have spent six minutes shooting into the school before driving off to continue his shooting spree. Neal saw the custodian and started firing at him, but Neals gun jammed. That was the fifth-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Those amounts are fractions of the sums donated after more highly publicized, deadlier mass shootings. Patrick "Hacker" Jones He knows a thing or two about hackin', lemme tell ya. The injured victims were transported to several area clinics and hospitals. "There was absolutely no question, no hesitation and I do believe that that also helped," she says. Theyve long since left, and Sanders said he has yet to receive any treatment for his anxiety, depression and likely PTSD. So I didnt get a picture of the bullet hole in the roof of Saras car. A patchwork of country homesteads and double-wides, Rancho Tehama Reserves spare core features little more than a baby-blue post office with matching recreation center and homeowners association office, a gas station, a shuttered pizzeria and a cracked asphalt airstrip. On the morning of Nov. 14, 2017, he helped prevent a potential bloodbath at the elementary school by drawing fire from the gunman in an act he brushes off as his parental duty. As the truck came to a stop Neal fired at the officers, who exchanged heavy gunfire with him. I have the California victim compensation through Sacramento, he said, so Im kind of waiting on that. Police Find Body Of Tehama County Gunman's Wife, Making His Death Toll 5. [30], Five people were killed on the day of the shooting spree, including the perpetrator, who died by suicide after a confrontation with a police officer and a deputy sheriff. Medical professionals cut teeth and tissue out of the then-20-year-olds mouth. Since the rampage, an armed security officer is now posted at the school full time. The Tehama County Sheriffs Office identified the five people killed by Rancho Tehama shooter Kevin Neal. After Neal sped off in the truck, Sanders raced from the school and across the airport runway to his moms place. Realtor Wilson says police should have been more vigilant. And one of the bullets entered through Woods Jr.s chin, tearing through the lower-right portion of his face. Gary Coronado has been a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times since 2016. Her son his nephew was a Rancho Tehama Elementary School student. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The Week in Photos: California exits pandemic emergency amid a winter landscape, Snowboarder dies at South Lake Tahoe resort, California to alter COVID rules in healthcare settings: Masks and vaccinations not required, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 15 arrested across L.A. County in crackdown on fraudulent benefit cards, Californias snowpack is approaching an all-time record, with more on the way, Dramatic photos show Lake Orovilles rise after epic storms, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick. In reply to R.V. It's something Assistant Sheriff Johnston seems to struggle with. But little help has reached some of the hardest-hit people, like Sanders. Ferreira recalled that at one point, he wanted to know the location of the shooter, so he ventured a look out the window. Witnesses and surveillance video show he stalked the school's courtyard, seemingly furious he couldn't get inside. Elijah Nouvelage /AFP/Getty Images At one point during his shooting spree, Neal rammed through the locked gates at Rancho Tehama Elementary School, before classes began. But he still runs frightened into the house when he hears loud noises, Feitelberg said. Police killed the suspected shooter, Kevin Janson Neal. [20] A passerby, unaware of the shootings, stopped his car and asked Neal if he was okay; Neal shot and wounded him, stole his car, and continued the rampage, killing another person. As Ferreira told this part of the story, he was so overcome with emotion that I didnt feel comfortable asking more about what happened in the storage room. Sanders said that he and Elliott were both threatened by Neal at various times, as were both of their young sons. He never saw the schools new windows, which replaced the ones shattered by Neals bullets, or the repairs to the bullet holes in its cream-colored siding and turquoise-painted beams. Gage never spent another night in that house on Bobcat Lane where he once played in the yard with his father. [5] At an intersection, he bumped the truck into a vehicle carrying a woman and her three sons. Sanders and Ferreira both said that when Neal rammed the gate, John, the schools custodian/bus driver, peeked around the corner toward the shots. Kevin Janson Neal: 43, of Corning was arrested Tuesday in the 6900 block of . David, Elliotts stepbrother, said that his fatherless step-nephew is now living with the boys maternal grandmother. On the morning of the shooting, Neal went to Elliott and Steeles house. It was gone, gone. "He did shoot at a number of classrooms which resulted in the injury of at least one or two students that I'm aware of," the sheriff said. How are we still in the exact same place? That gave the school a few more critical seconds to go into complete lockdown mode. I mean really. Windows have been fixed and bullet holes in the walls have been patched. They asked that the public keeps its focus on the victims. His leg was badly shot up. Jessie Sanders has lived in Rancho Tehama Reserve since he was 5. I spoke with Tina. And then I have to do implants. Rich Pedroncelli/AP It wasnt until Neal got back to his truck that one bullet grazed Sanders right forearm. and 3 neighbors and moved to the elementary school in Tehama County at around 8 am. Soon after, Neal arrived at Rancho Tehama Elementary School, where he barreled the stolen truck through the front gates and into the quad. Coy Ferreira, left, and Jessie Sanders remain shaken by the traumatic events that happened in their town one week ago. Officers grabbed Sanders and made him take off his shirt, shoes and socks. [3] The community lies amidst rolling hills of oak and pine trees with views of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak. I spoke with Jim, the husband of Sara, the quick-thinking school secretary who put the school on lockdown. All rights reserved. Four people were killed in the assault that lasted 45 minutes and 10 more were injured, including at least one young student. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Sanders said that encounter started a feud, and that over time, bad blood boiled. This is an especially complicated story made even more complicated by eight crime scenes. It worked. As Sanders tried to reach Neal, Neal ran to the stolen truck, firing the whole time at Sanders. [12], At the Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Sarah Lobdell, the school's secretary, heard the gunfire near the school and quickly ordered the school to go on lockdown. Its much closer as the crow flies, but theres only one way into the small community. Sanders said that Elliotts young son is now an orphan, since the boys mother died a few years ago. Shooter Kevin Neal threatened out loud that he was going to kill Danny Elliott and then go to the elementary school to kill Elliott's 7-year-old son, said Johnny Phommathep, a neighbor who li [9][10][8], After killing his neighbors, Neal stole a pickup truck that belonged to one of his victims. Gunman Kevin Janson Neal is believed to have spent six minutes shooting into the school before driving off to continue his shooting spree. Sanders, a father himself, said he was moved to tears one day last week when his son the one Neal may have driven to Rancho Tehama Elementary School to kill got onto a school bus and shouted, My dads a hero!. "On every occasion we responded, asking 'did you actually see him firing a gun?' He moved out of town, several hours away and into his parent's house with his wife and son. Government programs have provided minimal long-term financial assistance, according to several people affected by the shooting who said they also were not provided sufficient access to mental health treatment. One student was wounded and others were injured by broken glass. Kevin Neal killed four people, injured ten others. If you are a victim of domestic violence or know of someone who is a victim, there is help. He said the woman actually had to drive out of the Ranch and was on Rancho Tehama Road trying to get to a hospital. One student was wounded by gunfire and a second by flying glass. He turned in one registered handgun to a vendor. Rancho Tehama, also known as the Rancho Tehama Reserve, is an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, . There's a sense that deputies here failed to stop a man that appeared troubled and who was sporadically violent: he had attacked and stabbed his neighbor. At one point, Elliott asked Sanders to move out, because he believed Sanders presence inflamed the feud, and the situation needed to calm down. Sanders said he told told both Gilsan and Neal that he could mind his own business if theyd take it inside, but he couldnt watch a man beating a woman without trying to stop it. Today, the Rancho Tehama community still hurts. I went to my car, got my camera, and was distracted by the town flag I saw flying at half staff across the road. One of the most illuminating conversations was with Sanders, someone who provided vital details and left me with an understanding that goes straight to the heart of the story: a possible motive. Police believe the gunman, Kevin Neal, was likely targeting the neighbor's son, a kindergartner at the school and anyone else who got in his way. Rancho Tehama Reserve, where five people were killed and 14 others wounded in a shooting in November 2017. I've got my antennas up all the time. Chris Van Horne with CalVCB confirms the board, so far, has paid out only $100 in all for medical bills for the 12 wounded in Rancho Tehama. Crowdfunding efforts, which can be reliable resources for victims in the aftermath of prominent mass shootings with high death tolls, failed to raise enough money to defray the cost of their hospital bills and other needs. [17] The handguns were not registered to him. The shooters wife was nowhere to be found. [22][41], Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 05:56, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, List of rampage killers in the United States, List of school shootings in the United States, "Northern California shooter exploited 'honor system' in telling court he had no guns", "Former deputy says Rancho Tehama Reserve a hotspot for guns, pot", "California shooting gunman's neighbor lived in fear of him", "Poor and isolated, victims of Tehama shooter turn to the internet for help", "Rancho Tehama gunman killed his wife and hid her body under their home, authorities say", "Calif. rampage survivor talked gunman out of firing final shot", "Police knew 'madman' had guns before killing rampage", "Terror in Northern California town as gunman goes on rampage, sprays school will bullets", "Locked out of school, Tehama County gunman shot at children from outside", "Mother driving her boys to school when Rancho Tehama gunman struck shielded her son despite her wounds", "Mother shot 5 times by Rancho Tehama gunman begged for help to no avail", "Despite court order to give up weapons, Tehama gunman fired guns with impunity, frightening neighbors", "Students at Rancho Tehama Elementary return to school after mass shooting", "Tehama shooter may have been targeting 7-year-old boy in school shooting, neighbor says", "California mass shooter made his own rifles", "Rancho Tehama gunman targeted wife, neighbor before attacking passersby at random", "Who are the Victims of the Rancho Tehama Shooting? By law, Van Horne says, CalVCB cannot disclose any more information about specific victims or applicants. A bullet hole is seen in an exterior wall at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School on Nov. 15, 2017. According to Sanders sister, Tina, when Neal got close to the school again, he crashed the vehicle he was driving into another vehicle just a short distance down the road from Sanders mothers home. I also got to meet Jessie Allen Sanders, the man whos been called a hero that day at the elementary school for putting himself in danger to help save lives. The injured included six adults and six children. David Steele, who lost two relatives in the November 2017 mass shooting in Rancho Tehama Reserve, walks away from the former site of gunman Kevin Janson Neals mobile home. Since January 31, 2018, ghost guns required a serial number in the state. Sanders said he and Neal made eye contact, and realized they knew each other. Neal, 44, had been out on bail after being charged with stabbing a neighbor when he went on a 45-minute shooting spree Tuesday in the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve, about 130 miles . Johnston was one of the first on scene that day. The night of the shooting, Corning Union Elementary School District Superintendent Richard Fitzpatrick said those few seconds made all the the difference.