Terror in Northern California

Terror+in+Northern+California

On the morning of Tuesday, November 14, northern California’s small town of Rancho Tehama experienced what was described as a “rampage” by 44 year old Kevin Jason Neal that terrorized the small community as well as the local school, Rancho Tehama Elementary School, where he had crashed his vehicle in the gates of the campus and proceeded to open fire at the windows with his semiautomatic rifle.

Just a few minutes earlier, the school was placed under lockdown once staff members and teachers heard a multitude of gunshots ringing from a distance where the shooter had first begun his rampage. Before arriving to the school and opening fire on the building, Neal had already began shooting at random at anyone he came across whether they’d be outside their home, walking, or driving. One of the victims was a mother who was simply driving her son to school that morning.

However, fortunately for the school officials and students of Rancho Tehama, the shots alerted teachers and staff who sprang into action, rushing students into the building where the lockdown would commence. The superintendent of the Corning Union Elementary School District, Richard Fitzpatrick stated that “All of the staff were absolutely heroic in making sure that students were getting into the classrooms as shots were being fired” saying it was a question of minutes. Due to the quick actions and response of the school members, none of the casualties of the 45 minute horrific rampage was a child attending.

Although the gunman’s sister, Sheridan Orr, discussed her younger brother’s “deteriorating mental condition” through an interview on Wednesday at her home in Cary, North Carolina where she stated he needed mental help, the suspect’s shooting spree had already cost him his life and the life of others. As it currently stands, police officials believe the school was merely a random target for Kevin Jason Neal.