RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. (AP) - A day after a killing rampage that left five people dead in California, police faced accusations of having previously turned a blind eye to the troubled shooter who was known for firing off guns despite a court order that barred him from owning firearms.
At a tense news conference Wednesday, police conceded that neighbors had repeatedly complained about Kevin Janson Neal firing hundreds of rounds from his house.
Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said authorities responded to calls several times, but the 44-year-old Neal wouldn't open the door, so they left.
"He was not law enforcement friendly. He would not come to the door," Johnston said. "You have to understand we can't anticipate what people are going to do. We don't have a crystal ball."
Asked about Neal's motive, Johnston responded: "Madman on the loose. The case is remarkably clear. We will move forward and we will start the healing process."
The evidence that emerged Wednesday, however, along with residents' statements raised questions about whether lawlessness was occasionally tolerated.
Neal was also known to have violent squabbles with his neighbors and his wife, both of whom were among his first victims Tuesday.
Police found the bullet-riddled body of Neal's wife stuffed under the floorboards of their home in the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve. They believe her slaying was the start of the rampage.
"We are confident that he murdered her," Johnson said.
Neal then shot two of his neighbors in an apparent act of revenge before he went looking for random victims, ultimately killing a total of five people, all adults, and wounding 10 at different locations that included the community's elementary school.
At the time of the attack, Neal was out of custody on bail after being charged in January with stabbing one of the neighbors he later killed in the rampage.
After the January assault, a judge barred Neal from having guns, according to court records.
The records also show Neal was charged with illegally firing a weapon and possessing an illegal assault rifle Jan. 31.
He was charged with five felonies and two misdemeanors. As part of a protective order that barred him from "owning, possessing, purchasing or attempting to purchase firearms," Neal was ordered to stay away from the two female neighbors he had threatened.
At Wednesday's news conference, Johnston initially said Neal "was not prohibited from owning firearms" but later acknowledged the protective order against him.
Records show Neal certified he surrendered his weapons in February, but Johnston said Wednesday they had recovered two homemade assault rifles and two handguns registered to someone else.
During the rampage that lasted 25 minutes, Johnston said the gunman spent about six minutes shooting into Rancho Tehama Elementary School before driving off to keep shooting elsewhere.
Police said surveillance video shows the shooter unsuccessfully trying to enter the school after quick-thinking staff members locked the outside doors and barricaded themselves inside when they heard gunshots.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and children screaming at the school, which has about 100 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
A heroic school custodian rushed children inside, yelling "get into the classrooms" before Neal could reach them, said Corning Union Elementary School District maintenance department head Randy Morehouse.
"At that point he was able to get everyone inside so there was no one left on the blacktop," Morehouse said. "He's an absolute hero."
The shooter "tried and tried and tried and tried to get into the kindergarten door," he said.
The rampage ended when a patrol car rammed the stolen vehicle Neal was driving and police killed him in a shootout.