A school boy, a married couple among Rancho Tehama shooting victims
Mike McFadyen was supposed to be flying home to his son's 30th birthday celebration when he checked in for his flight out of Boise, Idaho.
By the time he boarded his plane, he was preparing for his sister-in-law's funeral and a hospital visit with his younger brother.
While on their way to the store on Tuesday, Troy and Michelle McFadyen became targets of the gunman who went on a shooting rampage in Rancho Tehama.
MORE: Shooter identified as 44-year-old man who had problems with neighbors
The family believes the two encountered the gunman before he showed up at Rancho Tehama Elementary School right as parents were dropping off their children.
Mike McFadyen, 59, spoke to the Record Searchlight from the road. He flew into San Diego on Tuesday and on Wednesday, he caught a flight to Sacramento. He was driving in the evening to be by his brother, who suffered gunshot wounds to his legs and already has undergone two surgeries.
"I'm going to say, 'I'm here,' because he's been asking for me" he said.
According to Mike, his brother and sister-in-law were forced off the road and into a ditch by a vehicle coming at them head-on. The gunman then parked the vehicle, walked toward them and fired into their car.
With no way of defending themselves, they ran for their lives, said Eric McFadyen, their nephew and Mike's son, on a GoFundMe page.
But the gunman ran them down until they fell to the ground.
MORE: Sheriff: Shooter killed wife day before mass shooting in Rancho Tehama
Michelle died at the scene. Troy, bleeding profusely, pleaded with the gunman to not waste his rounds because he was dying. In the chaos of the moment, he called Mike McFadyen and yelled into the phone, "They shot at us. Michelle is lying dead at my feet. She's dead. She's dead." Seconds later, the call dropped.
In the lucid moments he's experienced in and out of surgery, Troy McFadyen is raw, his brother and nephew say.
"He feels anger that he could not defend himself. We're a proud family. We treat others the way we want to be treated," Eric McFadyen said. "To be in a situation where he was helpless, it makes me sick."
The McFadyens have deep roots in the Red Bluff area.
Immediately after the call with his brother dropped, Mike made two phone calls. The first was to Gary, a neighbor who lives in Rancho Tehama. It was followed by a call to Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko, a friend since high school.
"Tom started texting me right away. He made calls and he was just amazing," Mike McFadyen said and added that his friend accompanied Troy in the aftermath and met their elderly mother at the hospital. "I know that is not part of his job, but I cannot say how good it was of him."
Mike McFadyen said Rancho Tehama has changed over the years. Marijuana growers have taken over the area. It's also developed a reputation for "tweakers," all of which has created a mess for regular residents just trying to keep to themselves, he said.
MORE: Witnesses heard volleys of gunfire during shooter's rampage
After 15 years living in the reserve, Troy and Michelle had talked about moving some place else while he waited for retirement. They even talked of moving to Idaho and had visited in June for the eclipse.
They were in a holding pattern because at 47, Troy has eight more years on the job as a pile driver in Oakland, Mike McFadyen said. Michelle, meanwhile, was a child protective officer and had worked with troubled kids.
He noted that they had been dealing with people hooking into their water system to irrigate their grows. "Basically, people are bizarre out there," he said.
To bring relief and support to his uncle, Eric McFadyen set up a GoFundme account on Wednesday. It is one of three online fundraisers for victims in the shooting rampage that left a total of six people dead and 10 others injured.
The fundraising campaigns have raised more than $20,000 so far. The funds will pay medical and funeral costs.
Troy McFadyen already has undergone two surgeries, with more scheduled in the days ahead followed by physical therapy.
MORE: Alleged gunman in Tuesday's rampage had history of violence
The alleged gunman, Kevin Janson Neal, who is counted among the dead, was killed in a shootout with two Tehama County sheriff's deputies.
Before going on his rampage, authorities said Neal killed his wife on Monday and hid her body under their home on Bobcat Lane. All told, they are working with seven crime scenes.
Speaking from San Diego, Eric McFadyen said he plans to travel to Rancho Tehama later in the week. In a shaking voice, he said, all he wants to do is help his uncle.
"We're really worried for him to be without her," he said. "Michelle was really sweet. My gosh she was so nice."
Mike McFadyen echoed that sentiment.
"They were inseparable. They were like newlyweds all the time. It was comical. They were always holding hands. They did everything together.
"She was the anchor. She was stern and tough, and he's the strongest human being," he said. "But this has taken him to his knees."
Separately, a woman has set up a GoFoundMe page for her boyfriend and his father.
James Woods Sr. and James Woods Jr. were checking mail when the gunman fired from behind, according to her page.
The younger Woods is the father of two small children.
Ashley Oleane Paez said he had come out of his first surgery and doctors thought his wounds were from two different guns. "He was responding well when asked (to), but still have to keep him asleep to help breathe and heal," she wrote. "Please Help Share and raise money for his family for transportation."
Alejandro "Alex" Hernandez, 6, was inside a classroom during lockdown at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School when the gunman opened fire.
He was shot in the chest and right foot and is recovering at a hospital, according to the GoFundMe account set up by his cousin, Alondra Mendoza.
The family has raised more than $18,000.
Mendoza said the money is to help him and his family in their recovery. "His family needs prayers and support at this time and any donation and prayers are appreciated," she wrote Tuesday.
Alex underwent surgery to remove a bullet from his right foot.
The school has about 100 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
MORE NEWS:
Michelle and Troy McFadyen fundraising page
Alejandro Hernandez fundraising page
James Woods father and son fundraising page