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Shooting Rampage Leaves 4 Victims Dead, 10 Injured In Small Community Of Rancho Tehama

Adia White
A temporary incident command center was set up for the Tehama County Sheriff's Office in Rancho Tehama following a shooting rampage that left at least five dead and 10 injured.

The rural Northern California community of Rancho Tehama lies about 135 miles north of Sacramento. It’s nestled in ranchland off the I-5, not far from Red Bluff.

About 1,500 people live here, in a town with a volunteer fire department, a small airstrip and one coffee shop. The community is still in shock, after a local man went on a shooting rampage Tuesday morning for reasons unknown. Five people were killed, including the shooter. And 10 were injured, including 2 children. Law enforcement and residents are still trying to piece together how something so awful could happen in their town.

Josee Garcia owns La Fortuna market near the Rancho Tehama Post Office. He didn’t hear the shots, but he says he knew something was wrong when law enforcement started showing up.

“I’ve been here for 20 years and whatever it is that happened here it surprised me, because I never thought this would happen here,” he said.

Jesus Monroy was dropping off his daughter at school in the nearby town of Corning when he heard the news. Parents and school staff were talking, trying to piece together what happened, and that’s how he learned that one of the victims was his nephew.

“People say somebody went to the school and they shot everybody, children and adults,” Monroy said. “And my nephew — they shot him in the arm and the leg.”

Monroy wasn’t able to reach his sister. She didn’t answer her cell phone and he didn’t know which hospital his nephew had been taken to. He looked stunned and said he could only hope the boy would be okay.

Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston sounded emotional at an afternoon press conference in front of the post office.

“Listen, people died here today folks,” he said. “This is a very tragic event for all of us. There were children involved.”

Officials are still investigating the crime, and the FBI is involved. There’s a lot to understand, with seven different crime scenes and a suspected shooter who had been in trouble with the law.

Meanwhile residents are waiting for any answers they can get. Tiffany Rogers, the  owner of Coffee Addiction, says that everyone in this town knows each other, and that it’s usually so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

“I’m just hoping that this is all resolved and that everyone I know is OK and that people survived,” she said.

For those who did survive, it may take some time before people feel okay again after such a senseless act of violence. 

The Red Bluff Daily News has reportedthat local residents were told the shooter’s name was Kevin Janson Neal, a 43-year-old resident of Rancho Tehama. The Sacramento Bee also reports being told by multiple sources, including district attorney Gregg Cohen, that Neal was the dead suspect. At this point, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed the identity of the shooter.

At one of yesterday’s press briefings Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said officials were worried the death toll could rise, as they have had trouble locating several of the gunman’s relatives.

Last night no written press was put out by the Tehama County Sherriff’s Office.

Public Information Officer Lieutenant Yvette Borden said in an email that was at Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston’s request and that the scenes were still processing and families were still being contacted.

A press conference is being held today at 10.