NPR

California Town Wrestles With Aftermath Of Shooting Rampage

A visit to Rancho Tehama shows a small, rural community still struggling with the fallout from last fall's massacre in which a gunman killed five townspeople and wounded 12 others.
On Nov. 14, 2017, a shooter killed five people and wounded several others in the rural Northern California town of Rancho Tehama.

On one level, it looks like all is mostly back to normal in the small, rural community of Rancho Tehama in northern California. But just below the surface it's clear people here are still grappling with the aftermath and struggling to heal from a local man's murderous rampage nearly three months ago that killed five and wounded 12 others.

Parents and school officials are thankful yet still deeply shaken; some of the wounded feel forgotten and misled; many residents feel the police dropped the ball and should have kept a closer eye on a troubled man whose life many say was clearly spiraling out of control.

There were more than 300 mass shootings in America last year in which four or more persons were wounded or killed.

The bigger ones, including the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, got lots of coverage by us and other media during and after the attack. The smaller ones often got far less.

The students are the heroes

A black and red RANCHO STRONG banner hangs across

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