CHP officer shot in standoff, suspect dead

An eight-hour standoff with law enforcement ended Tuesday with a Tehama County man dead and a California Highway Patrol officer hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

The suspect in the shooting, 60-year-old James Long, was pronounced dead at 7:36 p.m. Tuesday, Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker said.

The cause of death appears to be a gunshot wound, Parker said. It was not clear if the fatal wound was self-inflicted or sustained during the shootout, he added.

David Madrigal, 41, of the Red Bluff-area CHP was shot in the right leg and taken by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Parker said.

At 5 p.m., Madrigal was listed in serious condition, according to hospital spokesman Michael Burke.

Susie Mabe, an area resident and family friend, said she was on the phone with the suspect’s longtime girlfriend, Jeanie Bradley, when the shooting started.

“She said, ‘Jim has flipped out,’” Mabe said.

She said Bradley hid in a bedroom for a short time before escaping.

Officers responded at about 10:30 a.m. to 911-phone call regarding a domestic disturbance at the residence on the 22000 block of Reno Avenue just west of Gerber.

The suspect reportedly threw and broke household items in response to Bradley shutting off their Internet access, Parker said.

The suspect opened fire on Madrigal and deputies Chad Data and Bob Hoptins just before 11 a.m., Parker said.

Data and Hoptins returned fire, but Madrigal was injured before getting a shot off, Parker said.

No other injuries were reported.

Bradley is cooperating with investigators, Parker said.

She told investigators that Long has multiple handguns, shotguns and rifles, Parker said.

Long called his girlfriend shortly after the shooting, Mabe said.

“He said this was all her fault,” Mabe said.

That phone call was last known contact anyone had with the suspect, officials said.

More than 50 officers from various local agencies, including the Tehama County SWAT team, surrounded the area.

Officers attempted to establish contact with the suspect several times, but without success.

Around 6 p.m. officers launched tear gas into the home in an effort to smoke him out, Parker said.

During the standoff, Mabe called the suspect desperate and said she believed he did not care about anything.

“I don’t think he’ll walk out,” Mabe said Tuesday afternoon.

The surrounding neighborhood was evacuated shortly after the shooting. And, as a precautionary measure, Gerber Union Elementary School - just north of the crime scene - imposed a voluntary locked down, Parker said.

He said the investigation would begin Wednesday.

Contact Julie R. Johnson at 824-5464. Contact Rob Parsons at 934-6800.