CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has released new information about the Thursday morning shooting that resulted in the death of a woman and injuries to three other people.
The man authorities say is responsible for the shooting is Ezequiel Junior Bravo, 24, of Clearlake, who sheriff's deputies and Clearlake Police officers arrested near a school several hours after the shooting, which occurred at around 2 a.m. at the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks.
Lt. Corey Paulich said Bravo shot four people as part of what appears to have been a domestic dispute, killing Theresa Brown, 45, aunt of his estranged wife.
Paulich's Friday report indicated that at 2:16 a.m. Thursday Bravo – who was looking for his wife – forced his way into the Elem Drive home of his in-laws, Robert and Stephanie Brown.
After forcing entry to the home, Bravo shot and killed Theresa Brown, and also shot and wounded Robert and Stephanie Brown and his wife’s 6-year-old niece, Paulich said.
Stephanie Brown fled the residence in an attempt to call for help. Paulich said Bravo followed Stephanie Brown out of the residence and forced her at gunpoint into his vehicle.
Paulich said Bravo then went back into the residence. While he was in the house, Stephanie Brown was able to take Bravo’s vehicle and drove herself to the hospital.
When he subsequently fled the scene, Bravo took the Browns' van, abandoning it a short distance away on Pomo Road, Paulich said.
The first deputies to arrive at the scene found the abandoned van with a firearm inside, Paulich said.
Over the next several hours, authorities searched for Bravo on the ground and also from the air with the help of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Henry 1. Paulich said that alerts also were sent to surrounding law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, Paulich said the sheriff's office issued an early morning Nixle alert to the community with a photo of Bravo.
That public alert ultimately led to Bravo's capture, after a school official at Pomo Elementary School who had seen it spotted Bravo on the campus at around 9 a.m. Thursday and called law enforcement, according to Paulich's report.
Sheriff's deputies and Clearlake Police officers converged on the campus a short time later and took Bravo into custody without incident, Paulich said.
Bravo is being held in the Lake County Jail on $1 million bail for murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and assault with serious bodily injury.
He is expected to be formally charged when he appears in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment, which is tentatively scheduled for Monday, according to booking records.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Det. Richard Kreutzer at 707-262-4233.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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