At a tense news conference, police conceded that neighbours had repeatedly complained about Kevin Neal firing hundreds of rounds from his house among other erratic and violent behaviour.

Police also say Neal was out on bail after being charged with stabbing a neighbour and had been the subject of a domestic violence call the day before.

The mother of a gunman who shot 14 people, killing four, during a rampage in Northern California said he called her a day earlier and told her that he was finished feuding with the small rural community where he lived.