SACRAMENTO - Traja ľudia zahynuli v utorok pri incidente vo vidieckej oblasti na severe amerického štátu Kalifornia, kde na viacerých miestach spustila paľbu zatiaľ neidentifikovaná osoba. Viacero ďalších ľudí vrátane žiakov základnej školy utrpelo zranenia, informovala agentúra AP s odvolaním sa na oficiálne zdroje.
K tragickej udalosti došlo v obci Rancho Tehama Reserve ležiacej v okrese Tehama, približne 180 kilometrov severozápadne od kalifornského hlavného mesta Sacramento. Zástupca okresného šerifa Phil Johnston pre miestnu televíziu povedal, že vyšetrovatelia pracujú na najmenej piatich miestach v areáli miestnej školy a okolí.
Pracovníčka školskej správy Jeanine Quistová uviedla, že priamo v škole nikto nezahynul, viacero žiakov však bolo postrelených. Dve nemocnice v okolí potvrdili, že prijali sedem zranených osôb vrátane najmenej troch detí. Páchateľ sa chcel podľa úradov dostať do tried základnej školy, ale zamestnanci po tom, ako začuli výstrely, okamžite zamkli vchodové dvere.
Johnston uviedol, že ich čin bol "úžasný", a niet pochýb o tom, že zachránili životy mnohých detí. Celá tragická udalosť sa začala ako domáce násilie, ktoré nahlásili susedia, dodal Johnston. Podľa zástupcu okresného šerifa Phila Johnstona si zrejme vyberal svoje obete náhodne.
Jedna zo štyroch obetí bola strelcova suseda, ktorú mal v januári napadnúť, z čoho bol obvinený. Miestny obyvateľ Brian Flint povedal pre denník Record Searchlight, že strelcom bol jeho sused, ktorého poznal pod menom Kevin. Ten údajne v nedávnom čase "vystrieľal stovky nábojov" a susedia upozorňovali na to, že "je šialený a ohrozuje ich".
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Polícia po utorňajšej streľbe našla poloautomatickú pušku a dve pištole. Na webovej stránke Rancho Tehama Reserve sa podľa AP uvádza, že ide o "tichú uzavretú vidiecku komunitu", kde "sú ľudia priateľskí a žijú uvoľnene".
Podrobnosti o streľbe a páchateľovi
The gunman, 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, died by suicide after a Corning police officer rammed and stopped his stolen vehicle. During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire.
At the time of the spree, Neal had been freed on bail pending trial for two alleged felonies, and five alleged misdemeanors. Nine months before the shooting rampage, a judge had issued Neal a restraining order at a neighbor's request and ordered him to surrender his guns. The restraining order expired in September, but was renewed before the shootings. He manufactured the rifle and possessed the handguns in violation of that restraining order.
At least one unregistered semi-automatic homemade rifle and two borrowed semi-automatic pistols were used. After killing his neighbors, Neal stole a pickup truck that belonged to one of his victims. He then began firing at random vehicles and pedestrians. At an intersection, he bumped the truck into a vehicle carrying a woman and her three sons. He then drove up to the driver's side, and fired into it, injuring all of them with gunshots or flying glass.
The woman was shot five times, four near her heart. She was carrying a gun and had a license to carry, but she was unable to shoot at Neal because he drove away quickly. She stopped four motorists to help her get to the hospital, but they drove off. At the Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Sarah Lobdell, the school's secretary, heard the gunfire near the school and quickly ordered the school to go on lockdown.
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A school custodian and the teachers put it into action. Neal crashed the pickup truck through the front gates of the school. He exited the vehicle with a self-assembled AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle, ran into the center of the school's quadrangle, and fired repeatedly at windows and walls. One of Neal's neighbors later claimed that Neal was targeting the seven-year-old son of the neighbor he killed earlier.
One student hiding under a classroom desk was shot and injured by a bullet that penetrated a wall. A six-year-old student was also injured by a gunshot to the chest. A woman was also shot when she attempted to distract Neal from the school. Nearly 100 rounds of ammunition were fired into the school.
Recorded video shows Neal going into a field behind the school and firing into the air, apparently in frustration at being locked out of the classrooms. After fleeing the school, Neal crashed the pickup truck into another vehicle and fired at the two occupants as they tried to flee; the female driver was killed, and her husband was wounded in the legs.
As Neal was chasing an innocent victim and shooting at them from his car, he was being pursued by law enforcement. The stolen truck was ultimately rammed by two law enforcement officers, one from the Corning Police Department, who responded from the city of Corning to assist the sheriff's office, and a Tehama County Sheriff's deputy. As the truck came to a stop Neal fired at the officers, who exchanged heavy gunfire with him.
No officers were wounded, but their vehicle was struck five times by Neals gunfire. James Woods Sr. Kevin Janson Neal attended East Carolina University from August 2001 to May 2004 but did not qualify for a degree and never declared a major.
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Predchádzajúce incidenty a súdne príkazy
On January 31, 2017, Neal was arrested and charged with two felonies, and five misdemeanors, after stabbing neighbor Hailey Poland, assaulting her mother-in-law, and snatching a mobile phone away from them. He was held on US$160,000 bail, which was posted by his mother with a bail bond. His mother also spent $10,000 on legal fees to secure his release.
Following his release, Neal continued to harass the neighbors, causing them to successfully seek a restraining order that required him to surrender his firearms and not purchase additional guns. He handed over a single pistol and attested that he had no other guns. Police said that, despite this, he illegally manufactured the guns he used in the shootings.
Privately made firearms are currently legal to manufacture in California, but the terms of Neal's restraining order made it illegal for him to possess them, or any other guns.
Rancho Tehama Reserve
Rancho Tehama is a remote, sparsely populated, rural unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, that had a population of 1,485 in 2010. The community is located 120 miles (190 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Red Bluff, and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Corning. Forty-three percent of the town's residents fall below the federal poverty level. The community lies amidst rolling hills of oak and pine trees with views of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak.
Reakcie a dôsledky
Staff at Rancho Tehama Reserve School went into lockdown, securing school doors after hearing nearby gunshots. Authorities praised the teachers' actions as "monumental" in saving "countless" lives. Police confirmed one child was shot at the school after the gunman fired into it. Others were hurt by broken glass.
It is believed the shooting spree began after a domestic row with the gunman's neighbours in Rancho Tehama, a rural community about 120 miles (195km) from Sacramento, on Tuesday morning. Police said they believed he went on a "bizarre and murderous rampage" after the dispute escalated and he killed a neighbour. Officials confirmed the gunman had "prior contacts with law enforcement".
His sister, Sheridan Orr, told the Associated Press that she believed her brother was addicted to drugs, and had struggled with mental illness and a violent temper. "We're stunned and we're appalled that this is a person who has no business with firearms whatsoever," Ms Orr said.