Barred from possessing firearms by a restraining order after having assaulted two of his neighbors, California mass shooter Kevin Janson Neal reportedly built two of the guns used in the shooting.
(Rancho Tehama, CA) Kevin Janson Neal grabbed some guns and went on a killing rampage, starting with his wife and ending in a fatal shootout with law enforcement officers. In his wake, he left a body count of five dead and 10 more wounded, including injured children at the elementary school he attempted to assault.
At the time of the shooting, Neal was out of jail on bail for stabbing a neighbor in January; a judge had barred Neal from possessing firearms in February. At a news conference after the shootings, law enforcement was forced to admit that they had received several complaints about the high volume of gunfire coming from Neal’s property. One of the neighbors that he had been charged with assaulting ended up becoming one of his victims, likely as an act of revenge.
Neal utilized two rifles and two handguns during his killing spree. The handguns may have been borrowed or stolen, as they were reportedly registered to somebody other than Neal. However, the rifles he utilized were so-called “ghost guns.” These weapons are not registered or tracked, as they are built out of individual components instead of being purchased as a complete firearm.
“These firearms were manufactured illegally, we believe, by him at his home,” Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said. “So they were obtained in an illegal manner, not through a legal process. They are not registered.”
Neal had a criminal record that involved crimes such as selling drugs and hit-and-run accidents. After his most recent arrest, Neal got out of jail on a $160,000 bail. After he continued to harass the neighbors he had been charged with assaulting, a restraining order that forced Neal to surrender possession of firearms was issued.
In addition to the rifle that was seized when Neal was arrested, he also surrendered a pistol following the issuance of the restraining order. However, Neal apparently began immediately purchasing the components he would need to build the two rifles that he would eventually use during his killing spree.
The man who family members described as having a long history of mental illness had been working in California as a “marijuana grower;” he apparently ordered the parts to assemble a semi-automatic rifle online and assembled them at home. Although police have not confirmed whether or not the rifles he used had serial numbers, it is likely that they were made from “80% receivers,” which are unfinished lower receivers for AR-15 style rifles that require some machining to finish.
Under federal law, the lower receiver of a rifle must have a serial number when it is sold as a finished component or as part of a functioning rifle. However, in cases of the so-called “ghost guns,” it is possible to machine and assemble your own rifle that does not have a serial number.
Possession of these rifles is completely legal for American citizens that would not otherwise be prevented from owning a gun; it is still illegal to sell one of these guns without a serial number. In the case of Neal, serial number or not, he was not allowed to be in possession of any firearm at all.
