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Nephew of Northern Calif. shooting survivor: Gunman talked out of taking final shot

Posted at 6:34 PM, Nov 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-17 21:34:22-05

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A local man is revealing chilling details of his uncle’s face-to-face encounter with the gunman in this week’s rampage shooting in Northern California.

Eric McFadyen says his family is reeling after learning Uncle Troy and Aunt Michelle were caught in the crossfire on Tuesday morning in rural Tehama County.

RELATED: Wife of California school shooter found dead, reports say

In all, Kevin Neal shot 15 people and killed five, and fired nearly 100 rounds at an elementary school outside the town of Corning.

McFadyen’s uncle and aunt were driving to the store when a vehicle driven by Neal ran them off the road.

Neal got out and shot at their vehicle, causing them to run for their lives.

RELATED: California shooting gunman was 'paranoid,' police say

“That’s when he fatally shot Michelle and shot my uncle in both of his legs. He approached my uncle with his gun raised and my uncle said, ‘Save your bullets. I’ll bleed out for sure.’ For some reason, he turned around,” said McFadyen.

Neal would then head to and fire at the school before he was shot and killed by authorities.  Remarkably, Uncle Troy survived. His physical road to recovery is expected to be a long one.

McFadyen has set up a Gofundme campaign for his uncle to help with funeral and medical costs.