Mount Shasta schools locked down after gunfire; suspect arrested with weapon

MOUNT SHASTA, CA — Mount Shasta schools were placed under a temporary shelter-in-place order Thursday after the Mount Shasta Police Department (MSPD) received multiple reports of shots fired.

MSPD says that around 10:51 a.m. Thursday, their dispatch received several calls of a subject shooting a gun while driving a white Jeep in the area of ​​Berry Street and Mill Street.

Officers responded to the scene as more shots were reported near Smith Street. MSPD says it then requested assistance from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) and ordered local schools to be locked down as a precaution.

Around 11:05 a.m., MSPD said they located a vehicle matching the suspect's description on Mill Street. MSPD initiated a criminal traffic stop on Water Street and South Mt. Shasta Boulevard.

The suspect, Samuel Richard Bal, 33, of Yreka, was arrested.

MSPD says approximately 8 rounds were fired and a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm, registered to Bal, was recovered from the Jeep.

The school lockdown was lifted once the premises were cleared, MSPD says.

Bal faces several charges, including:

• Willful Discharge of a Firearm in a Grossly Negligent Manner
• Assault with a deadly weapon
• Brandishing a firearm in a school zone
• Willful and malicious discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle into a person

MSPD is asking anyone or business that witnessed this incident to contact their department at 530-936-7540. If businesses suffer material damage as a result of this incident, they are asked to refer to case number 2406M-0140.