On February 19th, 2017, at 4:44 PM, Redding Police Officers were dispatched to a shots fired call in the 3300 block of Woodburry Dr. Upon arrival officers located a subject with two gunshot wounds. This subject is identified as Joshua Eric Horak, 29 years of Tacoma, Washington.
The investigation revealed that Horak and his girlfriend traveled to Redding to visit with her grandparents. While visiting at the grandparent’s residence, Horak became verbally and physically aggressive toward the grandparents. Horak’s aggressive behavior increased throughout the weekend causing the grandparents to feel threatened in their own home.
Horak was told he needed to leave and was no longer welcome in their home by the grandfather who is in his 70’s. This caused Horak to become irate which started a barrage of insults and threats toward the grandfather. The grandfather feeling threatened went and armed himself with a handgun in order to protect himself and his family. Horak continued to threaten the grandparents with physical harm and charged the grandfather.
The grandfather shot Horak one time in order to protect himself and stop Horak him from assaulting him. Horak fell to the ground and then eventually got back up and tried to charge the grandfather again. The grandfather shot Horak again to prevent Horak from attacking him. This stopped Horak’s attack and 911 was called. Police and medical personnel arrived and took over the scene.
Redding Police Investigators were called out to the scene and took over the investigation. The grandparents and the girlfriend were cooperative and have all gave statements to investigators. The handgun was collected and booked as evidence. Horak was transported to the Mercy Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. Horak is listed as stable and his injuries do not appear to be life threatening at this time. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Redding Police Dept.
The grandfather was not arrested. This case will be sent to the Shasta County District Attorneys for review. The grandparent’s names are not being released based on the fact they may be victims of elder abuse.
