The body of Kevin Neal's wife was found after his shooting spree in Tahama County in Northern California.
The California gunman who killed four people and wounded two schoolchildren in a series of shootings Tuesday had killed his wife and buried her under the floorboards of their home, it has emerged.
The body of Kevin Neal's wife was found in his Rancho Tehama Reserve home a day after his shooting spree, Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said at a press conference Wednesday.
Authorities said she had suffered gunshot wounds. They believe she died Monday.
"We believe that's probably what started this whole event," Johnston said.
The day before the shooting, he had called his mother and told her, "Mom, it's all over now. I'm on a cliff and there's nowhere to go."
Meanwhile, teachers at the elementary school that Neal sprayed with bullets are being credited with saving the lives of students by putting the school in immediate lockdown.
No children were killed in the attack.
Neal rammed the gate with his vehicle and opened fire on the schoolyard, but the quick-thinking principal and teachers had already put the school on lockdown with the children safely inside.
When he couldn't get inside, the 43-year-old fired through the window at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School and shot 6-year-old Alejandro Hernandez in the foot and chest.
He also shot at Sarah Gonzalez, who had just dropped her daughter off at the school.
"He stopped me in the middle of the road and then he started shooting at me," she said. "I turned around and went to the school honking, trying to let people know that he was there."
