By staff reports
MENDOCINO COUNTY (MNG) ? Authorities are working to identify three or four suspects in the shooting of two Willits men at the Bushay Campground just before dark Wednesday, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff”s Office (MCSO).
The man who died was identified Thursday as Joseph Litteral, 40, of Willits. He was taken to Ukiah Valley Medical Center and life-saving measures were taken, but Litteral succumbed to his gunshot wound, according to the MCSO. A forensic autopsy is scheduled today.
The injured man, a Willits man in his 20s, was reportedly in stable condition Thursday afternoon at an out-of-county hospital, where he was flown by air ambulance. His name wasn”t released Thursday.
Both men were shot at close range in their upper torsos, according to MCSO spokesman Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.
Bushay employees called MCSO dispatch at about 7:50 p.m. to report the shooting. Park rangers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sheriff”s deputies, California Highway Patrol officers, Redwood Valley/Calpella Fire District and CAL FIRE personnel and REACH and CalStar helicopters responded to Campsite No. 8 at the campground, located at the northern end of Lake Mendocino.
Smallcomb said there were 20 to 30 people at the campsite when authorities arrived Wednesday night, and that the two men had been “socializing” there.
Alleged jealousy resulting from a love-triangle involving two men and a woman was a suspected motivation in the shooting, according to Smallcomb, and drugs may also have beena factor.
Neither of those suspicions was substantiated and the investigation continues, he said.
Authorities are seeking suspects and a dark-colored, four-door sedan in the incident, according to Smallcomb.
No further information was available from the MCSO Thursday about the circumstances surrounding the shooting. A witness at the scene reported seeing a car speed through the campground”s front gate with four people inside, and hearing multiple gunshots just moments later. The witness said shortly after that, a truck and the same car sped away from the campsite. The truck reportedly returned later and the occupants were contacted by police.
It appeared that about 20 people were at the campsite Thursday morning. The limit for individual campsites is eight people. A witness told the MediaNews Group staff there had been disturbances reported at Campsite No. 8 prior to the shooting.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Victoria McAllister said the USACOE was reviewing records Thursday to determine if there were any official complaints concerning the site.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call MCSO detectives at 467-9159.
