A woman was shot inside a home on Los Gatos Avenue in Shasta Lake Tuesday night, setting off a chase that tore through city lines and ended in a shootout on a downtown Redding street. Deputies say the man they were pursuing, 32-year-old Reese Colton Churulich, opened fire on officers multiple times before they shot and wounded him near Cypress and Hartnell avenues.
According to KRCR, Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Los Gatos Avenue home at about 7:54 p.m. Tuesday after a report of an adult woman who had been shot. Investigators say Churulich fled the scene in his pickup truck, and deputies spotted him driving the wrong direction on Fort Peck Street in Shasta Lake before initiating a pursuit.
The chase stretched across multiple city lines as officers from several agencies, including the Redding Police Department, joined in as it continued south into Redding, per the same report. Shasta Scout, which first published an account of the night’s events, reported that the pursuit unfolded shortly after election polls closed at 8 p.m. and involved excessive speed as it crossed into the city.
Gunfire Near KRCR and the Civic Auditorium
The Sheriff’s Office said Churulich fired at pursuing officers several times during the chase, including while passing near the KRCR station and the Redding Civic Auditorium, the station’s own report notes. Some people reported hearing gunshots near the station on Auditorium Drive, according to Shasta Scout’s account of the night.
The pursuit ended when officers used a precision immobilization technique, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, to stop Churulich’s Dodge Ram 2500 near Cypress and Hartnell avenues in downtown Redding. The maneuver is a low-speed method that forces a fleeing vehicle into an abrupt 180-degree turn so it stalls and stops, per Shasta Scout’s description.
After the truck was disabled, Churulich got out and began firing at officers, who returned fire and struck him, the station's report states. No officers were injured in the exchange. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for treatment, with Shasta Scout adding that he is expected to be booked into Shasta County Jail once he is released.
Charges and Road Closures
Authorities said Churulich faces two counts of attempted murder along with one count each of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and other charges, the same report indicates. Shasta Scout additionally reported that he was charged with violation of a restraining order. The woman shot at the Shasta Lake home was also taken to a hospital, but her condition has not been made available, and authorities likewise released no information about Churulich’s condition following treatment.
The Redding Police Department established road closures on Cypress and Hartnell avenues during the investigation, which were lifted around 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Shasta Scout. The Shasta County Multi-Agency Officer-Involved Critical Incident Response Team is now investigating the shooting, the unit that handles police incidents resulting in serious injury or death.
How Officer-Involved Shootings Are Reviewed
Under the process described in the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office policy manual, local law enforcement agencies work together to examine the facts and circumstances of such incidents for presentation to prosecutors. The District Attorney’s Office says it is involved in the investigation and review of all officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, though it has not issued findings on Tuesday’s case.
A similar shooting in April 2024 followed a comparable path: Redding officers were dispatched to the area of Cypress Avenue and Lowden Lane for a call for service, and an altercation there led to an officer-involved shooting, KRCR reported at the time. That suspect was taken to Mercy Medical Center with injuries described as unknown, and the incident was turned over to the Critical Incident Response Team, the same outlet noted. Cypress Avenue was closed between Hartnell Avenue and Bechelli Lane during that investigation before reopening by 9 p.m.
Shasta Scout has reported on other county incidents involving police shootings and pursuits over the past year, including the deaths of Christopher Michael Scott in a police pursuit, David Schaeffer being shot by police while sitting in his car, and William Clark Littlefield being shot by police outside a residence on Bob’s Mountain Road. Some community members have wondered whether Tuesday’s pursuit was connected to long lines at the Redding City Hall drop box, though that link has not been established.
