Wife of gunman in Northern California rampage found dead, bringing death toll to 6

The gunman behind a deadly shooting rampage Tuesday morning in Northern California was out on bail for a charge of stabbing a neighbor but authorities say a dispute with a female neighbor may have led the gunman to carry out his outburst.

Before police shot 43-year-old Kevin Neal dead, the man killed five people — including the neighbor — and injured at least 10 others in a string of shootings that spanned at least seven sites in the small community of Rancho Tehama, west of Corning, police said. The Assistant Sheriff said Neal also shot and killed his wife inside their home. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston says investigators found the body of Kevin Janson Neal’s wife hidden under the floor. Investigators believe the killing of his wife was the start of the rampage.

Neals mother said he called her a day earlier and told her “it’s all over now.”

His mother told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday from her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, that her son was frustrated by constant feuding with his neighbors and told her “I’m on a cliff and there’s nowhere to go.”

Neal’s mother, who would only use her first name Anne, said she posted bail in January after her son was charged with stabbing one of the neighbors.

She was unaware of his connection to Tuesday’s rampage in the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve until contacted by AP.

Neal’s sister told The Associated Press she believes her brother was addicted to drugs.

Sheridan Orr said she had not talked to her brother in months and was appalled when she heard about the shooting.