Yikes!! The man ran off and Neal stole his car. When Sanders ran into the schoolyard, he saw Neal across the quad, firing his weapon and spraying classroom windows and walls with bullets. Were only just beginning to understand the lack of support that families impacted by gun violence get.. But he said his son doesnt feel safe living in Rancho Tehama Reserve, and neither of them has the money to leave town. He fired repeatedly at the locked-down doors, windows and walls. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. She was about to ask him if he needed a ride when the siblings heard heavy gunfire. Authorities said an additional six adults and six children four boys and two girls were wounded. Jessie Sanders, 44, near where Kevin Janson Neal drove his truck into Rancho Tehama Elementary Schools fence. One of Neal's neighbors later claimed that Neal was targeting the seven-year-old son of the neighbor he killed earlier. Other than that, we get no help from anybody. Gun violence is so routine that theres just not the resources there to address the problem at all, he said. "The quick action of those school officials. 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. Neal then crashed his vehicle into a car, which killed and injured two people. At the time of the spree, Neal had been freed on bail pending trial for two alleged felonies, and five alleged misdemeanors. [1][37] Police said that, despite this, he illegally manufactured the guns he used in the shootings. [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. Miss Nelson yelled at Ferreira to get away from the window. Krystal Squires, 15, left, and sister Angalene Laurence, 12, were students at Rancho Tehama Elementary. Sissy Feitelberg with grandson Gage Elliott, who was orphaned at the age of 7 in the November 2017 shooting. A bullet hole is seen in an exterior wall at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School on Nov. 15, 2017. [2] The community is located 120 miles (190 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento, 25 miles (40km) southwest of Red Bluff, and 25 miles (40km) northwest of Corning. Ferreira said he thought the shooting lasted about 20 to 25 minutes. Now, nearly five years after the shooting, Feitelberg said she and Gage only truly feel secure when theyre together at home. Outside Rancho Tehama Elementary School after the shooting on Nov. 14, 2017. Ive always understood that people have mental issues. We wanted to see how people in this small community were coping now that all that coverage has faded. The night of the shooting, Corning Union Elementary School District Superintendent Richard Fitzpatrick said those few seconds made all the the difference. Gage gets his Social Security, I get my retirement from the state, and I get my Social Security. Sarah Gonzales had just dropped off her daughter, when the gunman blocked her car. Tehama County district attorney confirms the suspected shooter, Kevin Janson Neal, was killed by police. She previously covered the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, focusing on accountability stories and writing about failures by officials to comply with transparency laws. Nov 15, 2017, 03:54 PM EST. Ferreira said he grabbed the boy and ran into the storage room. "They were kind of elementary," says Assistant Tehama County Sheriff Phil Johnston. Its the attention [shootings] get or dont get that prompts the outpourings of support. [16] One student hiding under a classroom desk was shot and injured by a bullet that penetrated a wall. Kevin Janson Neal attended East Carolina University from August 2001 to May 2004 but did not qualify for a degree and never declared a major. You want to think that you have the ability to protect people from that and you don't have that ability. 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. Then I started walking around the area taking pictures as that location is the entrance to the small community. Sanders said he knows he probably needs years of therapy and mental health treatment, but his anxiety and emotions kept him from going to see the therapists who were made available in Rancho Tehama immediately after the incident. November 15, 2017 / 7:10 AM Rancho Tehama Mass Shooting Attack---=== November 14, 2017 Rancho Tehama Mass Shooting Not Terrorist Attack Kevin Neal The shooting rampage started at a home where he killed his wife Barbara Glisan. This Jan. 31, 2017 photo provided by the Tehama County Sheriff's Office shows Kevin Janson Neal, the gunman behind a rampage in Northern California. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Parents and school officials are thankful, yet still deeply shaken; some of the wounded feel forgotten and misled; many residents feel the police dropped the ball and say officers should have kept a closer eye on a troubled man whose life was clearly spiraling out of control. The more I heard, the more I learned about this isolated place surrounded by barren hillsides that less than 1,500 people call home. Among those killed was Neals wife. "He pretty much stopped me and shot at me three times through his windshield," Gonzales said. "Changes the way that I think of law enforcement," he says. At first it was like, well, we can give you this and that help-you-move-wise, but then youve got to worry about your rent and all your other big bills, Woods Sr. said. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. [40], Due to the shooting spree, Rancho Tehama Elementary School was closed earlier than planned for the Thanksgiving holiday break[5] and reopened on November 27. A shootout ensued, and Neal was killed. "Everyone's got their antennas up. Since the rampage, an armed security officer is now posted at the school full time. In this little-visited slice of Northern California, a mass shooting that occurred nearly five years ago has in some cases left behind battered people who have yet to reckon with its multilayered effects. They said Kevin Neal had a violent history. Sanders said that seeing Michelles body was the hardest thing for him to deal with, even after being involved in the school shooting. He was sprayed with glass, metal, and bullet fragments from both sides, he says, as he crouched in the front passenger side of his truck. The GoFundMe drive established by family members of a teacher killed in May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and her husband, who subsequently died of a heart attack, has already brought in more than $2.8 million. To many in town, hes a hero, though he says he dislikes the term. Sanders said that encounter started a feud, and that over time, bad blood boiled. Four people were killed in the assault that lasted 45 minutes and 10 more were injured, including at least one young student. He has not, and he will not, talk about his father. The man survived after pleading with Neal for his life. He hid her body beneath the floor of their home. 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 . I also spoke with two men who live directly across the road from the school where the gate is located, which Neal eventually smashed through with a car. The boy suffered non-life-threatening wounds, but the mother was seriously injured, Johnston said. The shootings led to domestic and international debate over the control of ghost guns and gun-licensing law in the United States. Wythe thought it was about 10 minutes. He told Tina to go home so she wouldnt get hurt. It is being reported that Kevin Janson Neal, the suspect in the case of the horrific Rancho Tehama School shooting is the same man who was arrested earlier this year for an assault against an elderly person that resulted in likely "great bodily injury.". The injured victims were transported to several area clinics and hospitals. Sanders later surmised that when officers saw him, they erroneously thought he may have been a second shooter. The gunman, identified by the Sacramento Bee and members of the Rancho Tehama, as Kevin Janson Neal, 44, shot both inside and outside Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Johnston said. Ive never had them. Worried about all the kids, and in a rush of anger, Sanders said he ran into the quad toward Neal, who was shooting in Sanders direction. Photos by Steve DuBois.). Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. 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 front yard where Tehama County, Calif., gunman Kevin Janson Neal lived with his wife, Barbara. Ferreira recalled that at one point, he wanted to know the location of the shooter, so he ventured a look out the window. Gunman Kevin Janson Neal is believed to have spent six minutes shooting into the school before driving off to continue his shooting spree. It wasnt until Neal got back to his truck that one bullet grazed Sanders right forearm. Dozens more were wounded. As Neal ran to his truck, still firing at Sanders, Sanders said he figured Neal was trying to get to his truck so he could run Sanders over. I did get some clarification on the tragedy, but not on all the victims. Uncle Chuck Bruehl pets his dog, Sammy, as friend Johnny Wythe looks on. He stepped out and fired randomly at the rooms around him. [5] In addition, seven children suffered injuries from shattered glass. The timing was also bad for attracting sustained news coverage and support campaigns. 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neal was known to authorities and had at least one prior arrest. Also in that classroom was Elliotts young son. 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. Rancho Tehamas small private airport runway is between the school and where Sanders moved in with his mother after Elliott asked him to leave for the sake of their safety. At one point, Elliott asked Sanders to move out, because he believed Sanders presence inflamed the feud, and the situation needed to calm down. He felt relieved to not see a shooter anywhere in the quad. He moved out of town, several hours away and into his parent's house with his wife and son. A school custodian and the teachers put it into action. Police killed the suspected shooter, Kevin Janson Neal. [14], Despite widespread criticism of the Sheriff's Department's handling of the case, incumbent Sheriff Dave Hencratt was the winner of the June 2018 primary race with 63.96 percent of the vote. "Well there was no direct violation of the TRO that we could sink our teeth into for sure," he says. Single. A gunmans deadly rampage through rural Rancho Tehama on Tuesday was stopped when police rammed his vehicle and exchanged shots in a fierce gun battle, authorities said. [11] They were taken to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Saint Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff,[33] Mercy Medical Center in Redding, or UC Davis Medical Center in Davis for treatment. I lost my marriage over it, which I dont care, because my main thing was I wanted to make sure Gage was safe and he felt safe.. Sheriff investigators work at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School campus in Rancho Tehama Reserve in Corning, Calif. On Tuesday, Nov.14, 2017. Neal went on a 25-minute tear through the community, starting just down the road from his home, where he killed his neighbor and two men, then stole a Ford F-150 pickup and drove north, said Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston. Coy Ferreira and Sanders both said they saw Michelle McFadyens body off to the side of the road. Steele and Elliott lived two doors down from Neal, who murdered the pair last Tuesday. Over two days, according to the FBI, five people were slain and 14 others were wounded, including five children at Rancho Tehama Elementary School, before the gunman, 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, took his own life. Just a bad person. And she actually just the other day brought up the shootings again. [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. Neal shot and killed four other people and wounded 10 at different locations around the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve. RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. . Theyve long since left, and Sanders said he has yet to receive any treatment for his anxiety, depression and likely PTSD. [13][19] Nearly 100 rounds of ammunition were fired into the school. According to Ferreira, at that moment, Miss Nelson was ushering children into a storage room in the back of her classroom. [11] The woman was shot five times, four near her heart. ", "Shooter Ran Victims Off the Road and Chased Them on Foot, Family Says", "Officials: Five dead, 10 injured in Rancho Tehama mass shooting", "Suspect in Rural Northern California Shooting Killed 5, Died by Suicide: Sheriff", "Rancho Tehama gunman died by suicide, autopsy shows", "4 dead after California shooting; gunman tried to enter school", "Gunman kills four, wounds child at school in California shootings", "Red Bluff deadly shooting: Gunman identified", "At Least 4 Victims Killed After Shooting At School, Other Locations In California", "California shooting gunman was 'paranoid,' DA says", "Wife of Tehama County shooter found dead under floorboards at home", "California shooting victims' families turn to GoFundMe for help", "California mass shooting suspect killed wife, hid body day before rampage, officials say", "Shooter identified as 44-year-old man who had problems with neighbors", "California Town Wrestles With Aftermath Of Shooting Rampage", "Gunman in Fatal California Shooting Raised in Raleigh", "Sheriff's documents show growing feud between Rancho Tehama shooter and his neighbors", "Woman attacked months ago by Rancho Tehama gunman 'knew this was going to end bad', "Confused over California's new gun laws? 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. In using the term, "domestic terrorist," I am . But clearly, theres a part of Rancho Tehama thats anything but peaceful. During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. As she drove away, she heard something a gunshot or a firecracker. [29][1] The first shooting report to 9-1-1 was placed at 7:54a.m., and Neal died at 8:19a.m.a duration of 25 minutes. [10] He then began firing at random vehicles and pedestrians. The result is multiple stories, many of them second- and even third-hand; some of them conflicting. [4][25][26][27][28] Two handguns and another AR-15-type rifle were recovered near his body. Like Gage, Sanders son also was at Rancho Tehama Elementary when Neal arrived after shooting multiple people on his way from Bobcat Lane. And he never saw the banner draped across the schools front columns that declares Rancho Strong in big block letters. James Woods Jr. was driving near Rancho Tehama Elementary with his father, James Woods Sr., in the passenger seat on Nov. 14, 2017, when Neal opened fire on their car. Because it feels mostly peaceful where he lives, hell stay. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Word around Rancho Tehama was that nobody would stop for Tiffany when she sought help, probably because they thought the woman must have been associated with something bad to have been shot, and they didnt want to get involved. [38] The two handguns that Neal possessed during his shooting rampage were not registered to him. Tina said that in her gut she knew the location of the gunfire. For many years Steve DuBois has enjoyed taking photos of his dogs in interesting and unusual places. I have the California victim compensation through Sacramento, he said, so Im kind of waiting on that. Officials say Kevin Hanson Neal, 43, began firing at 7.52am on Tuesday. But on Nov. 14 she knew this gunfire was different. "I just told [police] to tell my wife and son I love them and I just faded away. 14 min read. By the time 44-year-old Kevin Neal was finally stopped - fatally shot by officers - Neal had killed five people and injured 18. Afterwards, Neal apparently discarded the rifle outside the school. Sanders said that while living with Elliott and Steele, there were several confrontations between his housemates and Neal. Rancho Tehama Elementary School was targeted by a gunman on Tuesday. They tried to get him to remove his pants, but he wasnt wearing shorts and refused to remove his jeans. Some people might find bitter comfort knowing that one name is permanently off the list: Kevin Janson Neal. hide caption. Every bullet missed but the one that grazed his arm. [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? Definitely the biggest thing, he said, is wondering how theyre going to look at their dad when theyre older., Now 12 years old, Gage moved with Feitelberg to her and her husbands home in Sacramento immediately after the shooting. Finally, help arrived for her when law enforcement drove up Rancho Tehama Road toward the Ranch and they saw that Nai Phommathep was in need of help, and took care of her and the children on the side of the road. Steve DuBois lives in Redding. In 2017, this census-designated place with fewer than 2,000 residents made national headlines in the same way as towns like Newtown, Conn., Parkland, Fla., and Uvalde, Texas. She's used to the echo of gunfire in this rural community. Sanders assumed Neal was at the school trying to make good on his threat to kill Sanders son, and the son of his friend, Eliott. Kevin Janson Neal shot Woods in the face during the 2017 rampage. He heard his daughters teacher, Miss Nelson, yelling loudly for all the kids to get inside NOW! By then it was about 7:58 to 7:59 a.m. But theres no end in sight for the psychological misery and financial troubles left behind. . Forty-three percent of the town's residents fall below the federal poverty level. 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. Cardenas says pledges of help to cover some medical costs transportation, medicine, mental health care have yet to materialize from the sheriff's office and the California victim's compensation board. One student was wounded by gunfire and a second by flying glass. Relatives said Neal, who moved to California in 2005, had a history of mental illness and anger management issues, as well as an obsession with conspiracy theories. killing 58 people and leaving more than 850 others injured, Rancho Tehama gunman targeted wife, neighbor before attacking passersby at random, Terror in Northern California town as gunman goes on rampage, kills 5, 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, Welcome to the world, baby Winter, born amid a snowstorm in Lake Arrowhead. And it paid for all the funerals other than the shooters, he said. ANI. Sarah Lobdell is the secretary at Rancho Tehama Elementary School. Sanders yelled at Neal, calling him names and demanding the gunman shoot him instead of the children. Three of the children were treated and released at the scene, two were treated and released from a hospital and one remains hospitalized. He tended to a wounded family, called in medical care, set up a roadblock and helped orchestrate the police pursuit. 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. Source: Tehama County Sheriff. Rancho Tehama is 45 miles from my Redding home. Officers recovered one semi- automatic rifle and two handguns. Tensions escalated. But they still have to rip all my teeth out, and then I have to do a bone graft.. Sandra Wells's 5-year-old daughter is happily back at school. Several of those wounded that day say they feel forgotten. He was riding in a car with his son when Kevin Janson Neal opened fire. His leg was badly shot up. hide caption. He never returned to the classroom where the gunman unsuccessfully tried to open the door, which had been locked just seconds earlier. Troy McFadyen was injured, and his wife Michelle McFadyen was killed. On the morning of the shooting, Neal went to Elliott and Steeles house. "On every occasion we responded, asking 'did you actually see him firing a gun?' It ripped his world, said Feitelberg, who moved her grandson out of Rancho Tehama Reserve after the shooting. So they didn't have the evidence to search his home? Ferreira ran onto the playground, picked up the little girl and rushed her into the classroom. Ferreira said that as he started to move away from the window, shots rang out, bursting through the glass and passing through the wall beneath the very windows hed looked through seconds earlier. Lobdell's fast action likely averted a massacre. Some believe that it was during that time period that Neal shot the McFadyens and stole his last vehicle from Jonah Bongcayo after chasing him with gunfire. As the truck came to a stop Neal fired at the officers, who exchanged heavy gunfire with him. Its much closer as the crow flies, but theres only one way into the small community. The. Realtor Wilson says police should have been more vigilant. Neal then got back on the road, where he chased a couple in another car and crashed into their vehicle, authorities said. And we still have that sense of 'we can't believe this really happened. Kevin Neal. Cardenas says he's exploring his legal options. A short time later, a patrol car rammed the suspect's vehicle. Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire. It was a real big shock.". Here's the things we look for: shell casings on the ground, something fresh that we could use, evidence that we could use to write a search warrant. David said Neal then hid behind some trees and shot Elliott and Steele when the pair came outside. Those amounts are fractions of the sums donated after more highly publicized, deadlier mass shootings. Not everyone who lives in Rancho Tehama knows exactly what happened. Sanders and Ferreira both expressed frustration that the mass murder that happened in their community exactly one week ago was not just senseless, but preventable. They also received some short-term assistance from Tehama County and about $55,000 from a GoFundMe drive. Patrick "Hacker" Jones He knows a thing or two about hackin', lemme tell ya. Neal obliged, turning his assault-style rifle Sanders direction and firing like 60 times, Sanders said. Elliotts father has dementia, and has to be reminded a few times a day that his son and his wife are dead. I was ready," he says of that fall day. I think its the desensitization to these events that leads to people wanting to move on, he said. "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. Time stopped in November 2017 for many who were affected by Neals bloody rampage, which left behind seven separate crime scenes and ended when he turned one of his guns on himself. The five killed by Neal were 38-year-old Barbara Ann Gilsan (Neals wife), 38-year-old Danny Lee Elliott, and his mother 68-year-old Diana Steel (Neals neighbors, two doors down), 56-year-old Joseph Edward McHugh III (Neals next-door neighbor), and 55-year-old Michelle Iris McFadyen. Hencratt is named among the defendants, which include Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston, Tehama County Sheriff's Office, Tehama County, the estate of Neal and the Rancho Tehama Association. 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. [10] He had previously attempted to report his neighbors to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Rancho Tehama is a remote, sparsely populated, rural unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, that had a population of 1,485 in 2010. For Woods Jr., who has extensive facial scarring, the most difficult part has been the question of how his kids will perceive him. Ferreira said that the teacher tried to get the dispatcher to understand that she was calling from the school, the location of the shooter, but the 911 dispatcher hung up on her. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) James Woods Jr. was driving near Rancho Tehama Elementary with his father, James Woods Sr., in . He targeted seven locations in the rural community of Rancho Tehama, including an . that Kevin Janson Neal, a 44-year-old resident of the small community in Northern California, was the . Ferreira did say that when Miss Nelson called 911, she got a busy signal. Identified as Kevin . Among the injured was a 6-year-old boy, shot while inside his classroom. And we all strongly agree that", "It is very tough. "Hopefully if they get anything else like this again they'll look at it a little closer," he says. He stays at home, he has an Oculus [virtual reality headset], and he has a computer, and he does that and thats basically it.. He was driven down by the gas station at the entrance of the Ranch where he sat inside the car for an hour.