California shooting: One dead and two injured at San Rafael detox centre

The shooter is said to still be at-large

A shooting at a California detox centre has left one person dead and two others injured, with the shooter yet to be found.

The Marin County Sheriff’s office responded to a 1:33am call from someone inside the Helen Vine Detox Centre in San Rafael who reported that staff members were shot. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found three victims inside the centre. One of the victims included a man who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other two victims—a man and woman—were sent to Marin General Hospital. The sheriff’s office said their names, ages, and conditions are unknown.

The shooter was not found at the scene. The county sheriff’s office searched the area surrounded the detox centre with help from the Central Marin Police Authority, the California Highway Patrol, and the San Rafael and Novato police. The shooter was not found and remains at-large.

The Helen Vine Recovery Centre is a “licensed 26-bed co-ed residential detoxification program” treating patients with alcohol, drug and psychiatric issues. The detox centre is a common location for local police to drop off individuals who are publicly intoxicated or called for help after binge-drinking for several days. Occasionally, clients from local emergency rooms are admitted into the centre. Other times, individuals would voluntarily check themselves in for recovery treatment.

The detox centre is run by 15 employees and its operation hours are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It houses 16 and 10 beds in the male and women dorms, respectively.