Gunman Picking Random Targets Kills 4, Wounds Kids

A gunman choosing targets at random opened fire in a rural Northern California town Tuesday, killing four people at several sites and wounding others at an elementary school before police shot him dead, authorities said. The AP reports the gunfire began around 8am in the community of Rancho Tehama Reserve. "It was very clear at the onset that we had an individual that was randomly picking targets," Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and children screaming at an elementary school about five miles down a road from where the shooting is believed to have started. Several people were wounded at the school, said Jeanine Quist, an administrative assistant with the Corning Union Elementary School District.

Details were still sketchy hours after the shootings, and authorities did not have a firm count of the wounded due to the number of places the gunman attacked, Johnston said. Authorities recovered a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns. Two hospitals said they were treating a total of seven gunshot victims, including at least three children. At least one student was wounded at the school. Another child was shot while driving with a woman, who also was wounded, Johnston said. He declined to release the name of the shooter but said he was "aware" of a domestic violence incident that neighbors reported. Rancho Tehama Reserve is described on its website as a "quiet private country community" where "the people are friendly and the pace is relaxed."