California gunman 'was out on bail after stabbing neighbour'

Last updated: November 15, 2017 at 16:11 pm

The gunman behind a rampage in Northern California yesterday was out on bail charged with stabbing a neighbour.

Others had complained about Kevin Neal firing hundreds of rounds from his house, and he had been the subject of a domestic violence call the day before the attack.

He died in a shootout with police after shooting 14 people, killing four, in seven different locations across a rural community.

It's not yet clear what the terms of Neal's bail were, and whether he would have been allowed to possess and fire the weapons on his property at the end of a dirt road in Rancho Tehama Reserve.

But his many contacts with authorities raised questions of why he was out of custody and able to go on the 45-minute rampage that began with the killing of two neighbours in an apparent act of revenge before he went looking for random victims.

Police said surveillance videos shows the shooter unsuccessfully trying to enter Rancho Tehama Elementary School after quick-thinking staff members locked the outside doors and barricaded themselves inside when they heard gunshots.

One student was shot but he is expected to survive.

According to the Associated Press, the brother of the gunman said he had struggled with mental illness throughout his life and at times had a violent temper.

And Sheridan Orr said her brother had "no business" owning firearms.

Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said the shooter was facing charges of assaulting one of the feuding neighbours in January and that she had a restraining order against him.