BREAKING: At least 3 dead in shooting in Tehama Co. it started at a home and moved to the school. Shooter shot and killed by police. pic.twitter.com/xIKvyIxq4y
— Sara Stinson (@SaraStinsonNews) November 14, 2017
A suspected gunman is dead after killing at least five people on Tuesday morning in Tehama County in Northern California. According to the local ABC News affiliate, the incident began at a residence and progressed to the Rancho Tehama Elementary School. In the above clip (via Sara Stinton of the Action 12 station in Chico), Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston confirmed multiple gunshot victims at the school, and he says that the suspected shooter was killed by law enforcement.
Johnston further stated that the school has been cleared, and a number of students have been airlifted to nearby hospitals. All other children were cleared from the building and have been transported to safe locations. CBS News initially reported that authorities didn’t believe anyone was killed at the school, but NBC Bay Area now reports that at least two children are among the dead.
KCRA reports details from a witness who says the gunman, who reportedlyjoh lived nearby, killed Flint’s roommate and stole Flint’s truck:
“The crazy thing is that the neighbor has been shooting a lot of bullets lately, hundreds of rounds, large magazines. We made it aware that this guy has been crazy, and he’s been threatening us and everything. I just feel like there maybe should have been more effort put into stopping things like this.”
The suspected shooter has been identified further by NBC Bay Area as a known felon named Kevin. However, around 100 law enforcement agents are currently wading through seven separate crime scenes, so more information should be forthcoming soon.
UPDATE #1 – 3:40pm EST: CNN reports that the violence apparently started as a domestic dispute. The shooter then moved to different locations while “randomly picking targets,” according to Assistant Sheriff Johntson.
California Governor Jerry Brown has also issued a statement. “Anne and I are saddened to hear about today’s violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren,” he stated. “We offer our condolences to the families who lost loved ones and unite with all Californians in grief.”
This situation is developing, and we’ll continue to report details as they arrive.