money Trinity County sheriff: Accused shooter suffered from traumatic brain injury
The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office has released more information on last week’s shooting that left two people dead.
The incident all began around 9:15 a.m. Nov. 7 when the sheriff's office received a report of a shooting in the parking lot of a Weaverville area business. Arriving deputies found Shane Gillespie, who was dead.
On its Facebook page, the sheriff’s office said the shooter, David Whitehouse, had suffered from "a traumatic brain injury" that made him angry and affected his memory. The injury also made him paranoid, the sheriff's office said.
Whitehouse believed that people whom he did not know by name had harmed him years ago and the leader of this group of people drove a white Dodge Charger, which Whitehouse had become fixated with and believed it had been following him, investigators said.
The sheriff’s office said there is no evidence that Whitehouse had ever been injured by these people who he thought were following him.
RELATED: Witness describes scene after two fatal shootings in Trinity County
On the morning of Nov. 7, Whitehouse, while in the parking lot of a Weaverville business, fired shots into the driver’s side of a white Dodge Charger that Gillespie occupied, investigators said.
About a half hour later, at 9:50 a.m., deputies received a report of another shooting at a home in Trinity Center. Deputies who responded confirmed that the victim was Lloyd Von Meerscheidt, the sheriff’s office has said.
Monday’s sheriff’s office Facebook post said that Whitehouse had previously lived in Trinity Center with Von Meerscheidt, whom he did not like for a variety of reasons, which the sheriff’s office did not detail.
Deputies, aided by the California Highway Patrol, spotted Whitehouse’s car after the shooting in Trinity Center and pursued it. The chase ended at Whitehouse's home where he barricaded himself and later died of a “self-inflicted injury,” the sheriff’s office has said.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. The Trinity County Sheriff's Office is among 13 agencies involved.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Trinity County sheriff: Shooter suffered from traumatic brain injury
