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But we try to, you know, communicate with her the best we can. James Woods Jr., 25, with daughter Nevaeh, 5. Jeff Eldred, a victim witness coordinator with the Tehama County district attorneys office, said that the county has helped about 150 people who were affected by the violence apply for financial assistance from the California Victim Compensation Board. It wasnt until Neal got back to his truck that one bullet grazed Sanders right forearm. Sarah Gonzales had just dropped off her daughter, when the gunman blocked her car. [9][10][8], After killing his neighbors, Neal stole a pickup truck that belonged to one of his victims. He fired dozens of shots through windows and walls from the . The boy suffered non-life-threatening wounds, but the mother was seriously injured, Johnston said. 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. Sanders said that while living with Elliott and Steele, there were several confrontations between his housemates and Neal. Jessie Sanders, 44, near where Kevin Janson Neal drove his truck into Rancho Tehama Elementary Schools fence. Not everyone who lives in Rancho Tehama knows exactly what happened. "But this was pretty obvious," he continues. The result is multiple stories, many of them second- and even third-hand; some of them conflicting. He praised his staff. hide caption. She previously covered the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, focusing on accountability stories and writing about failures by officials to comply with transparency laws. The shootings led to domestic and international debate over the control of ghost guns and gun-licensing law in the United States. I was really scared because I did not know what was happening to Angalene, she said. My high school classmates were massacred in 2018. I spoke with Tina. 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. On one level, it looks like all is mostly back to normal in the small, rural community of Rancho Tehama in Northern California. His neighbors complained regularly that Neal was firing off rounds day and night. What Im reporting here today is what I saw and heard during my visit. Tehama County district attorney confirms the suspected shooter, Kevin Janson Neal, was killed by police. [29][39] One of the neighbors involved in the January 31 incident later became one of those killed in the shootings. The front yard where Tehama County, Calif., gunman Kevin Janson Neal lived with his wife, Barbara. He fired repeatedly at the locked-down doors, windows and walls. A man reported that his truck was stolen and his roommate was shot and . He was 7 years old. But months before that, Hailey Poland had survived a vicious attack at his hands and worried that things . For those who were shot, it paid for medical bills. [1][37] Police said that, despite this, he illegally manufactured the guns he used in the shootings. Elsewhere the signs are less visible. He attacked my school," Johnston said. 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. A school custodian and the teachers put it into action. 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.. His mother also spent $10,000 on legal fees to secure his release. Police Find Body Of Tehama County Gunman's Wife, Making His Death Toll 5. Before they split up, Feitelberg and her husband successfully applied to be Gages legal guardians, which enabled them to receive Social Security payments on his behalf. The man survived after pleading with Neal for his life. The more I heard, the more I learned about this isolated place surrounded by barren hillsides that less than 1,500 people call home. 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. So they didn't have the evidence to search his home? The shooters wife was nowhere to be found. 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. Yes it did. They declined to speak on the record citing potential legal action. Those who were killed and wounded ranged in age from 6 to 68. Afterwards, Neal apparently discarded the rifle outside the school. But he said his son doesnt feel safe living in Rancho Tehama Reserve, and neither of them has the money to leave town. 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. The killing of the woman, whose name has not been released, raises the death toll to five at the hands of suspect Kevin Janson Neal, 43, who also is dead. He was 7 years old. Sanders said that Neal was wearing a bullet-proof vest that had magazines attached to the front of it. For most of them, it provided counseling, because thats what they needed. He moved out of town, several hours away and into his parent's house with his wife and son. Neal was killed by a self-inflicted gun shot. He targeted seven locations in the rural community of Rancho Tehama, including an . [1] He handed over a single pistol and attested that he had no other guns. May 21, 2021. Another young man, Dale Dykes, showed where Neal was shot and killed by officers, just a short distance down the road from where Sanders lives. Its definitely affected Gage, and it will for the rest of his life.. . Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. The Tehama County Sheriffs Office identified the five people killed by Rancho Tehama shooter Kevin Neal. His neighbors had complained he had fired multiple rounds for days before this rampage that ended up at this elementary school. Gun violence is so routine that theres just not the resources there to address the problem at all, he said. (Editors note:Doni Chamberlain contributed to this story. 9 of 42 10 of 42 Boarded up windows at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School in the small community of Rancho Tehama, shot out by Kevin Janson Neal, 43 , as seen on Wednesday Nov. 15, 2017, in . "They should have never allowed him to get bailed. Now, nearly five years after the shooting, Feitelberg said she and Gage only truly feel secure when theyre together at home. / CBS News. But clearly, theres a part of Rancho Tehama thats anything but peaceful. It was so close I was almost like 'just get it over with, just hit me.'". During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. [5][18][25][26][27][28] The victims included two students at Rancho Tehama Elementary School and Michelle McFadyen's husband. This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Fox News finally reveals its kryptonite: the bottom line, 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.s coolest new hangout, Best coffee city in the world? It worked. He was driven down by the gas station at the entrance of the Ranch where he sat inside the car for an hour. (Elijah Nouvelage / AFP / Getty Images) (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) James Woods Jr. was driving near Rancho Tehama Elementary with his father, James Woods Sr., in . He opened fire near his home on Bobcat Lane in Rancho Tehama then drove off. Authorities . 17:40 ET (22:40 GMT) 15 noviembre, 2017. [22][23][24] The 25-minute attack took place at eight crime scenes using one semi-automatic ghost rifle and two semi-automatic pistols. They were his first victims. Dale Dykes shows the location of the fatal shootout between officers and Kevin Neal that left Neal dead. Armed with at least three guns and a ballistic vest, the shooter began his rampage just before 8 a.m., killing two of his neighbors. In November 2017, Kevin Neal went on a rampage in the secluded community of Rancho Tehama in California, which ended with five people being killed and many more injured. 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. The attack killed four people and left nearly 12 more injured. 5. . Tensions escalated. Eric Westervelt/NPR Sanders yelled at Neal, calling him names and demanding the gunman shoot him instead of the children. But Wells says her kindergartner is not really the same since she had to run and crouch in fear as the crackle of gunfire echoed. Rancho Tehama Elementary School was targeted by a gunman on Tuesday. Neal then held the women hostage "for a period of time," Cohen said Wednesday. When he stopped firing, she says he continued toward the school. [4][25][26][27][28] Two handguns and another AR-15-type rifle were recovered near his body. Coronado grew up in Southern California and graduated from USC. California, November 16 . The Record Searchlight reported: "A helicopter medical crew reported they were transporting a 6-year-old victim to Mercy Medical Center in Redding. Sanders said that encounter started a feud, and that over time, bad blood boiled. He felt relieved to not see a shooter anywhere in the quad. There is only one way in, and one way out, and thats via Rancho Tehama Road. It was a real big shock.". At one point during his shooting spree, Neal rammed through the locked gates at Rancho Tehama Elementary School, before classes began. Cell phone photo of officers arresting Jessie Sanders, and having him strip down. Rancho Tehama, also known as the Rancho Tehama Reserve, is an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, . How are we still in the exact same place? "It hurt. Troy McFadyen was injured, and his wife Michelle McFadyen was killed. Sheriff investigators work at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School campus in Rancho Tehama Reserve in Corning, Calif. On Tuesday, Nov.14, 2017. That seemed strange, so as the sound of gunfire intensified, Wythe grabbed the dog and fell to the floor. Sanders said he ran from his moms house over to the scene to see what had happened. Dozens more were wounded. 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. Scheide. Rancho Tehama Reserve. The shooter was killed by law enforcement. [38] The two handguns that Neal possessed during his shooting rampage were not registered to him. 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. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. They said were waiting to be approved still, Woods Sr. said as he watched his son play with his own young children at a riverside park in Rancho Tehama one hot afternoon last month. But that high regard hasnt meant much for Sanders everyday life. ", "One of the teachers quoted, 'the students are the heroes.' I have the California victim compensation through Sacramento, he said, so Im kind of waiting on that. We're not sure how.". His leg was badly shot up. It's crazy.". [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. Theyve long since left, and Sanders said he has yet to receive any treatment for his anxiety, depression and likely PTSD. A GoFundMe drive for an 11-year-old Robb Elementary student who was injured by bullet fragments and released from the hospital shortly after the shooting has received more than $478,000. The stolen truck was ultimately rammed by two law enforcement officers, one from the Corning Police Department, who responded from the city of Corning to assist the sheriff's office, and a Tehama County Sheriff's deputy. They were mothers, sons and wives. . The community will try to move forward. Bruehl said Neal had an AK-47, and he and Wythe were both wondering where the cops were. During this time, Bruehl was oblivious to what was happening outside. Elliotts father has dementia, and has to be reminded a few times a day that his son and his wife are dead. [1][8] His motive remains unclear. 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.". Dan Flannery, director of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said sustained assistance is key in the months and years following mass shootings. He targeted seven locations in the rural community of Rancho Tehama, including an elementary school that went on lockdown before he came in. "He didn't come to the door so they moved on. The motive for the shooting is still unclear. Kevin Janson Neal mugshot. Muscular but skinny after a recent battle with colon cancer, the 44-year-old has a couple-inch-long pink scar where one of Neals bullets seared the outer flesh of his tattooed right arm. There are terrific days and we're all so thankful," she says. 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. Nine months before the shooting rampage, a judge had issued Neal a restraining order at a neighbor's request and ordered him to surrender his guns. More and more, its also the kind of place where some residents no longer feel safe, and are no longer surprised when they leave their homes to return to find them broken into and/or vandalized. 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 . Rancho Tehama Reserve, where five people were killed and 14 others wounded in a shooting in November 2017. Since the rampage, an armed security officer is now posted at the school full time. Photos by Steve DuBois.). Entrance to Danny Elliott and Diane Steeles home. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Sandra Wells's 5-year-old daughter is happily back at school. Some people might find bitter comfort knowing that one name is permanently off the list: Kevin Janson Neal. Neal then crashed his vehicle into a car, which killed and injured two people. And by the time police got to him, Cardenas says, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to make it. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. [7] Recorded video shows Neal going into a field behind the school and firing into the air, apparently in frustration at being locked out of the classrooms. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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. For many years Steve DuBois has enjoyed taking photos of his dogs in interesting and unusual places. Witnesses and surveillance video show he stalked the school's courtyard, seemingly furious he couldn't get inside. They said Kevin Neal had a violent history. I talked with many people that day. "I had a weapon in my hand. There's also lingering frustration with the Tehama County Sheriff's office. Sanders moved out. He hid her body beneath the floor of their home. They could see where shed been shot. 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. They were the second and third people shot to death by Neal, who lived in a light-blue mobile home barely 100 yards from their property. Tina said that in her gut she knew the location of the gunfire. Gage still has a poster hanging on his bedroom wall adorned with messages from his former classmates well miss you, we love you but about three years ago, he lost touch with the last friend from his California life. The injured included six adults and six children. I mean really. Among the injured was a 6-year-old boy, shot while inside his classroom. Elijah Nouvelage /AFP/Getty Images She told how, as she drove up the road toward home, she saw her brother Sanders walking along the road. Identified as Kevin . Neighbors also complained that he fired off weapons regularly even though he wasn't supposed to have any firearms under the terms of the TRO. He tended to a wounded family, called in medical care, set up a roadblock and helped orchestrate the police pursuit. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said that the body of Kevin Janson Neal's wife was found under the floor in their home and her murder is "what started this whole event." On November 1314, 2017, a series of shootings occurred in Rancho Tehama, an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, U.S. Woods Jr. first filed for state victim compensation this year. "He's a bad guy and I'm not going to glorify him in any manner whatsoever. He turned in one registered handgun to a vendor. Three of the children were treated and released at the scene, two were treated and released from a hospital and one remains hospitalized. [3] The community lies amidst rolling hills of oak and pine trees with views of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak. Patrick "Hacker" Jones He knows a thing or two about hackin', lemme tell ya. Source: Tehama County Sheriff. Connor Sheets is an investigative and enterprise reporter at the Los Angeles Times. One student was wounded and others were injured by broken glass. It's hard for us to talk to her about it. 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. James Woods Sr., 47, at a park in Rancho Tehama Reserve. And then that man can even threaten to kill his neighbors, and eventually make good on his threats, and then some. Woods Sr. doesnt like to complain. [11] In total, deputies were called to Neal's Bobcat Lane home 21 times for various reasons in 2016 and 2017. On November 14, 2017, Kevin Janson Neal murdered his wife, before going on a shooting rampage in Rancho Tehama, California. [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. Every bullet missed but the one that grazed his arm. Today, the Rancho Tehama community still hurts. 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. 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. The sheriff's office set up surveillance a few times. It's not clear why the wounded have received so little thus far. Ferreira said that about 7:57, about two minutes after the father and daughter had left the office, they heard shooting. Sanders said Neal actually shot guns toward them on several occasions, but Neal would lie and say theyd been shooting at him. 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. 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 mother of the gunman who killed four people during a shooting rampage in Northern California said he called her a day earlier and told . Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire. That disparity echoes researchers findings that the higher the body count, the more the media attention, and the greater the outpouring of assistance, said James Densley, a sociologist and criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. They show up in people's psyches, or behind closed doors. The kids will return to school on Mon., Nov. 27, after Thanksgiving break. Four people were killed in the assault that lasted 45 minutes and 10 more were injured, including at least one young student. When she heard the shots last November, she immediately called for every child and teacher to get inside and go into lock down mode. 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. Its much closer as the crow flies, but theres only one way into the small community. On Nov. 14, 2017, a shooter killed five people and wounded several others in the rural Northern California town of Rancho Tehama. Kevin Janson Neal. (Elijah Nouvelage / AFP / Getty Images) By Alene Tchekmedyian Staff Writer The sound startled her, but she couldnt identify it, so she wasnt worried. [5][11][32] The other victims were 56-year-old Joseph McHugh III and 55-year-old Michelle McFadyen;[11] police believe they were randomly targeted. When they got out, Neal shot them, killing one. They say he chose random targets and stole two vehicles during the rampage. Either way, during the shooting Tina drove her car up to the school with Sanders as people were rushing away, telling them to get out of there. In using the term, "domestic terrorist," I am . Just a bad person. The retired contractor didn't want his full name used. [9][18][20] One of the injured students, six-year-old Alejandro Hernandez, was the youngest victim; he was shot in the chest and leg, had to be airlifted to UC Davis, and required multiple surgeries. 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. 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. Authorities said an additional six adults and six children four boys and two girls were wounded. Yes it did.". 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[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. I think its the desensitization to these events that leads to people wanting to move on, he said. Sanders got into his sisters car and the pair rushed toward the school. Sanders said that Elliotts young son is now an orphan, since the boys mother died a few years ago. Cardenas was eventually airlifted to a hospital. This is an especially complicated story made even more complicated by eight crime scenes. [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. "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. There are a few other roads, but I was told they require four-wheel vehicles. Sanders felt enraged, and shouted to Neal to shoot in his direction, hoping to distract him from the kids. 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. [32] Although Danny Elliott had meth in his system when Neal killed him and had been put on probation in 2016 for a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia, sheriff's deputies and California Fire officials said they never found evidence of a meth operation, despite multiple visits to Bobcat Lane. 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. 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 . Sanders said that seeing Michelles body was the hardest thing for him to deal with, even after being involved in the school shooting. Another, to help with hospital bills for a 34-year-old Rancho Tehama father who was shot in the leg, brought in less than $5,000. 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. 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. No one, Johnston says, seemed to see Neal shooting a weapon. and 3 neighbors and moved to the elementary school in Tehama County at around 8 am. Three months later, Mike says, people are still on edge. "There's a small bundle of plastic flowers honoring the dead at the "Welcome to Rancho Tehama" sign when you enter the town. Steve DuBois lives in Redding. [4] Major stores, social services, and medical careincluding a hospital emergency roomare in Red Bluff and Corning.