CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has secured multiple crime scenes in Clearlake Oaks as it attempts to determine the motive in a Monday morning shooting that killed two people and wounded two others, with one of the surviving wounded being a California Highway Patrol officer.
Sheriff Brian Martin said one man is in custody for the incident, first reported before 11:30 a.m. Monday and spread out across numerous locations around the town, including the area of the Clearlake Post Office to the Clearlake Keys and Brassfield Winery.
Martin said there are a total of four victims – two civilian dead, one civilian wounded and the one wounded CHP officer.
He said no names are being released at this time.
Martin said several different firearms were involved in the shooting, one of them being a shotgun.
CHP Officer Kory Reynolds of the Clear Lake Area CHP office told Lake County News that the male CHP officer who was wounded is alive and in care at a local hospital after suffering a leg wound.
Separately, Martin said the CHP officer had sustained a hit to his body armor that did not result in injury.
“He is expected to make a full recovery. His injuries are non-life threatening,” said Martin.
Based on the reports so far, the CHP officer appears to have been the first member of law enforcement to arrive at the scene and confront the male suspect. Reynolds said the officer reported having been shot about a minute after arriving at the scene.
The suspect was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies, Lakeport Police units and CHP shortly before 12:15 p.m. on High Valley Road, according to officials.
The sheriff’s office, assisted by the California Highway Patrol, has secured multiple scenes around Clearlake Oaks as it investigates the crimes, according to Martin and Reynolds.
“We’re working seven crime scenes here,” said Martin, with the possibility of an eighth.
Most of those crime scenes are on Anchor Village in the Clearlake Keys, along with several other locations, Martin said.
“We pretty much closed the whole street,” Martin said of Anchor Village, explaining that four houses on the street are separate crime scenes.
Investigators also are on the scene at Brassfield Winery on High Valley Road, where the suspect was reported to have shot at people, Martin said.
Nearby East Lake Elementary School was placed on lockdown, with a law enforcement presence there, Martin said.
Reynolds said CHP units are remaining on scene to assist with securing the area.
District Attorney Don Anderson also is at the scene to assist with the investigation.
While there had been reports of a second possible suspect, Martin said there is only one suspect currently. “We narrowed it down.”
He said reports related to another car connected to the incident turned out to involve a witness who is speaking with investigators.
Early Monday afternoon, Martin said he did not yet know the reason for the shooting.
However, he added, “I think we’re going to have a pretty good idea of what the motivation was.”
A previous version of this story stated that the sheriff reported a total of five people had been shot, with two dead and three wounded. However, the sheriff followed up to report that there were two wounded, not three, for a total of four victims.
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Sheriff says one suspect in custody for Clearlake Oaks shooting that kills two, wounds two
- Elizabeth Larson
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