California shooter built his own illegal guns, officials say

Damon Arthur | Gannett

Show Caption Hide Caption Five dead in Rancho Tehama shooting Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston gives an update to the media about the Rancho Tehama shooting on Nov. 14, 2017.

RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. — Two of the guns used in the Tehama County mass shooting on Tuesday were homemade, while the other two were not registered to the shooter, officials said.

There was also a restraining order issued issued in February that prohibited the shooter from owning guns.

The two homemade AR-15 type semiautomatic rifles were made from parts the shooter, Kevin Janson Neal, purchased, said Phil Johnston, Tehama County’s assistant sheriff.

“These firearms were manufactured illegally, we believe, by him at his home,” Johnston said Wednesday. “So they (the guns) were obtained in an illegal manner, not through a legal process. They are not registered.”

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In addition to the two rifles sheriff’s deputies found during the shooting investigation, Johnston said the 44-year-old also had two handguns that were not registered to him.

Neal went on a shooting rampage Tuesday morning, killing four people and wounding 10 others, including at least two children. No children were killed, even though Neal apparently rammed the gate of Rancho Tehama Elementary School and fired numerous shots at buildings.

Neal was killed during a shootout with deputies while he was trying to flee in a stolen vehicle. Sheriff’s officials believe Neal’s wife was killed Monday and her body was stuffed in a hole in the floor of their home.

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