Northern California shooting death toll rises; gunman's wife found dead at their home
The death toll of the Northern California shooting rampage has risen to five as authorities reveal that the gunman also killed his wife at their home before going on a shooting spree around town.
The authorities found the gunman's wife dead under the floor of their home Tuesday night. She is suspected to have been killed Monday night, and her death may have kicked off the rampage that her husband went on the following morning.
"We believe that's probably what started this whole event," said Phil Johnston, assistant sheriff of Tehama County.
Following the killing of his wife, the suspect identified as Kevin Neal, went around town on a shooting spree, killing an additional four people and injuring at least 10 others before being gunned down by police officers.
The Tuesday morning shooting started at around 8 a.m. in Neal's own neighborhood, where he killed a neighbor who had a restraining order against him due to a previous incident where Neal was arrested and charged of assault with a deadly weapon.
After that, the gunman stole a pickup truck and went around town, seemingly shooting at people randomly. He was wearing a tactical vest and was armed with a semi-automatic rifle with extra magazines.
"This guy was bent on driving by residences and arbitrarily shooting at them," said Johnston.
The gunman also forced his way into Rancho Tehama Elementary School, ramming the pickup truck through the school's locked gate and shooting at classrooms. Fortunately, the school was alerted about the shooting beforehand, and was able to react to the lethal threat.
Doors were locked as students and staff rushed inside school buildings and hid under desks. One student was injured during the attack, but is now in stable condition. Johnston applauded the quick response of the school staff. "I have to say this incident, as tragic and as bad as it is, could have been so much worse," he said.
The gunman then left the school and crashed the pickup truck into another car, before stealing a sedan and resuming his deadly rampage. He encountered two police officers at an intersection. Shots were exchanged briefly before the gunman was killed at the scene.
