Neal’s mother, Anne, is convinced her son’s irrational tendencies, history of violence, and a longstanding feud with neighbors led to his rampage. She claimed her son harbored an unfounded belief that his neighbors ran a meth lab, whose fumes harmed his dogs.
This irrational fear had already escalated into violence. Neal was awaiting trial for stabbing a neighbor. His mother posted his $160,000 bail and spent $10,000 on lawyer fees.
The details of Neal’s bail remain murky. It’s not clear if a judge prohibited him from possessing firearms.
The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office received frequent noise complaints about Neal constantly screaming and firing hundreds of rounds of ammunition. On Monday, deputies came to his house for the last time on a domestic violence call. Officials have not released additional details about the alleged dispute.
Locals first reported gunfire at 7:52 am Tuesday morning. Witnesses claimed to hear over 100 shots. The killing continued for 45 minutes.
After conflicting reports, law enforcement revealed surveillance footage proved Neal tried entering the Rancho Tehama Elementary School for six minutes. Quick-thinking teachers saved many lives when they rushed to lock the school’s entrances as shots rang out.
The gunman fired several rounds into the school, injuring one student – who doctors expect to survive.
Thwarted, Neal drove off in his pickup. He died a short time later in a shootout with police. Authorities recovered three firearms, a semiautomatic rifle and two pistols, at the crime scene.
Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston encapsulated his feelings of sorrow, for the loved ones lost, and pride, for his colleagues’ bravery:
“I have to tell you I am personally grateful to the men who engaged this suspect. It’s a tragic event, but I am personally grateful for engaging such a terrible, a mass murderer really. That’s what he is.”
The White House, from President Trump down, is closely monitoring the situation. Vice President Pence offered his condolences earlier on Twitter.
Saddened to hear of the shooting in N. California, the loss of life & injuries, including innocent children. We commend the effort of courageous law enforcement. We’ll continue to monitor the situation & provide federal support, as we pray for comfort & healing for all impacted
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) November 14, 2017
H/T to Fox News, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and KCRA-TV Sacramento.
UPDATES:
Nov. 15, 11:07 am: With the gunman’s identity revealed, AAN included his name and other pertinent details.
Nov. 15, 11:15 am: We update the article to include the latest information on Neal’s actions during the shooting.
Nov. 15, 11:22 am: We uploaded video footage with the latest updates from Fox News.
Nov. 14, 6:38 pm: We updated the death toll with the number of casualties as of Tuesday evening.
Nov. 14, 6:40 pm: We included comments from Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnson.
Nov. 14, 6:55 pm: We added the number of weapons recovered from the gunman.
Nov. 14, 7:00 pm: We incorporated video footage of the Tehama County Sheriff Office’s press conference taken from local NBC affiliate KCRA-TV.
Nov. 14, 7:03 pm: We posted a tweet offering condolences from Vice President Mike Pence.
AAN published the original article on November 14 at 2:04 pm.
AAN Staff
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