Gunman Dead of Apparent Suicide After Residential Shooting, Police Chase
KENWOOD — 56-year-old Randall Allan Farris is dead after a tragic series of events which left one person injured and kicked off a police chase that ended with Farris ultimately turning the gun on himself.
On December 2nd at around 2:30 PM, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to reports of a shooting at a residence on Adobe Canyon Road. The caller was later found to have been a secondary victim.
After extensive investigation, officers were able to piece together the chain of events:
Farris, the ex-partner of one of the victims, arrived at the home after the recent break-up, which had left animosity between the two. He then drew a firearm and threatened both occupants, asking something to the effect of “Who would like to die first?”
The first victim, fearing for the safety of the other, engaged Farris in a physical confrontation, sustaining two gunshot wounds and yet still managing to turn the gun back on Farris and shoot him twice. While this all took place, the second victim drove to a neighbor’s home to call 9-1-1.
Soon thereafter, Farris fled in a black SUV.
Deputies and EMS personnel responded and promptly issued a BOLO alert for Farris and the vehicle, both of which were quickly spotted close to the intersection of Highway 12 at Melita Road.
A traffic stop was conducted and Farris was ordered out of the vehicle. Once out, officers saw that he was still holding the gun used in the shooting. He was ordered to drop the weapon but chose instead to get back in the vehicle.
And so the chase continued at a slow pace — until pursuing officers heard a loud pop and watched as the vehicle suddenly veered off the road, plowed through vegetation, and collided with the side of a residence. Officers approached the vehicle and found Farris slumped over the steering wheel, dead of a gunshot wound to the right side of his head.
Meanwhile, the victim he’d shot back at the home on Adobe Canyon is expected to make a full recovery. The secondary victim was unharmed.
For additional information, read the official Santa Rosa Police Department press release.
