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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 15 november 2017

Gunman targets people at random in California town, kills 4

By DON THOMPSON and tersection of two dirt roads
PAUL ELIAS in the upper reaches of the
Associated Press sparsely populated neigh-
RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, borhood. Minutes later,
Calif. (AP) — A gunman more calls reporting shots
driving stolen vehicles and flooded in from different
choosing his targets at ran- locations, including a small
dom opened fire “without elementary school.
provocation” in a tiny rural “It was very clear at the
Northern California town onset that we had an indi-
Tuesday, killing four people vidual that was randomly
and wounding at least 10 picking targets,” Johnston
others, including a student said.
at an elementary school, Witnesses reported hear-
before police shot him ing gunshots and children
dead, authorities said. screaming at Rancho Te-
The gunfire began shortly hama Elementary School,
before 8 a.m. in the ru- which has one class of stu-
ral community of Rancho dents from kindergarten
Tehama Reserve, a ho- through fifth grade.
meowners association of Johnston said one student
modest houses and trailers was shot at the school and
in rolling oak woodlands flown by helicopter to a
dotted with grazing cattle hospital, and another stu-
about 130 miles north of dent was wounded in a A woman and a child sit by an elementary school where a gunman opened fire in the community
Sacramento. car on the way to school. of Rancho Tehama Reserve in Corning, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017.
Police offered no imme- He said no one was killed Associated Press
diate word on the assail- there. hicle before two deputies day.’” members.
ant’s motive, but a sheriff’s “The shooter targeted the exchanged gunfire with On the way, he said he saw “It’s pretty quiet,” said 14-
official said the shooter’s school from outside the him, Johnston said. No of- an apparent gunshot vic- year resident Vince Broff,
neighbors had reported a school and shot inside ficers were hurt. tim and police at another who lives about a mile from
domestic violence incident the school with multiple Salvador Tello said the scene. the school but was kept
a day earlier. rounds,” Johnston said. gunman fired at a truck in The rural subdivision is de- away from his home for
Brian Flint told the Record The assistant sheriff said front of him as he went to scribed on its website as more than three hours.
Searchlight newspaper in the school locked its doors, drop off his three children a “quiet private country Before a law enforcement
the city of Redding that and students and staff at school. Tello said he was community” where “the crackdown, marijuana
his neighbor, whom he “sheltered in place” un- about three blocks from people are friendly and the farming was prevalent in
knows only as Kevin, was til deputies ushered them the school when bullets pace is relaxed.” the isolated area several
the gunman and that his onto a school bus and led made “big holes” in the The homeowner associa- years ago down and ap-
roommate was among the it to safety under heavy truck. tion’s website says there peared to attract some
victims. He said the shooter guard. He said he forced his are 2,016 lots in the com- crime, but “nothing this se-
also stole his truck. Johnston said authori- children to duck down, munity and 1,346 voting rious,” Broff said.q
“The crazy thing is that the ties believe they know the slammed his vehicle into
neighbor has been shoot- identity of the shooter but reverse and headed to the
ing a lot of bullets lately, declined to release his children’s grandmother’s
hundreds of rounds, large name pending further in- house.
magazines,” Flint said. “We vestigation. He appears to “I put my kids down and
made it aware that this have fired a semiautomat- put my truck in reverse and
guy is crazy and he’s been ic rifle and two handguns went out,” he said. “I don’t
threatening us.” at seven locations, authori- believe it, because I wake
Tehama County Assistant ties said. up, take my kids, feed
Sheriff Phil Johnston said of- The shooter initially stole a them cereal and put them
ficials received multiple 911 neighbor’s truck and then in the truck and say, ‘Let’s
calls about gunfire at an in- carjacked a second ve- go to school like a normal