Gunfire within half-block of FRJUSD’s Burney office forces lockdowns, bus diversions – Two arrested
BURNEY, Calif. — Authorities say a shotgun-wielding felon and wanted parolee who caused a school and district office lockdown after discharging his firearm was arrested earlier this morning, Tuesday, March 16. A second person was also arrested after the shooting, which happened within a half-block of the Fall River Joint Unified School District’s Burney office on Tamarack Avenue.
The suspect, 32-year-old, Kyle Daniels Christie, of Burney, was wanted on other charges and had several warrants for his arrest when he was apprehended after this morning’s incident. He remains in custody without bail, after being booked on more than thirty felony charges as well as more than a dozen misdemeanor charges related to this morning’s incident as well as his warrants and other crimes he was actively being sought for.
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Deputies from the Burney Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the area of Woods Avenue and Pine Street this morning after receiving reports of a loud disturbance and a gunshot heard, Shasta County Sheriff’s Sergeant St. Clair told SCNS via phone after the incident and arrest.
St. Clair said deputies responded to a similar call in the same area the previous night and had obtained a warrant and been actively been searching for Christie since.
Kyle Christie and Katarina Richey, 28, both of Burney, were arrested after a shooting incident that caused the lockdown of Burney Elementary School as well as the Fall River Joint Unified School District’s Burney office this morning. SCSO photos
Because the shotgun blast was heard less than a half-block and just three hundred feet away from the FRJUSD’s Burney office, and just a short distance from Burney Elementary School, St. Clair called for the district office and nearby school to be locked down as a precautionary measure and ordered all incoming school buses with children aboard to divert from their intended destinations and stand by at a safe location.
Deputies who began arriving in the area within minutes of the dispatched call were told by witnesses that Christie was with an unknown female and that the couple had fled the area on foot. Witnesses also told deputies that Christie was acting irrationally and still armed with a short-barreled shotgun.
“After several minutes of searching the area, deputies received reports that Christie had been seen near the Pit River Health Clinic and had assaulted a male subject, pointing the firearm at him,” St. Clair continued. “As deputies arrived at the clinic, employees reported that Christie was last seen walking behind the Pit River Casino.”
Deputies soon spotted Christie and the female, later identified as Katarina Castillo Richey, 28, of Burney, attempting to cross Burney Creek behind the casino.
“Deputies could see that Christie was still armed with the shotgun and was given commands to drop the firearm,” St. Clair described. “After several moments, Christie threw the shotgun into the bushes and deputies were able to place Christie under arrest.”
Although Richey attempted to flee the area while deputies were confronting Christie, she was quickly apprehended by a deputy who spotted her running from the area.
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Some of the charges Christie was booked into jail on included multiple counts each of assault with a deadly weapon likely to result in great bodily injury, brandishing a firearm, being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm and ammunition, making criminal threats, and possession of narcotics, as well as possession of an illegally-modified, short-barrel shotgun, elder abuse, vehicle theft, resisting arrest, and numerous violations of his PRCS parole.
Richey was also booked into the Shasta County Jail on numerous weapons violations, including being a felon being in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, and violation of parole.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident and arrests and the school and district office were informed they could return to normal daily operations.
Christie’s booking sheet after today’s incident shows a long list of violent charges. SCSO booking information
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.