In 2017, tragedy struck Rancho Tehama when Kevin Janson Neal went on a deadly shooting spree. After killing his wife and then his neighbors, he began to openly shoot at people from his car as he drove through town to the local elementary school, where he injured several students. Five years after this senseless event, L.A. Times reporter Connor Sheets picked up the story, taking note of the lack of media coverage it had received compared to others like it.