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Police: I-5 shooter used rifle, may have had mental health issues A gray pickup that struck and killed a shooter is parked along Interstate 5 near the scene of the shooting. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Sunday Oct 1, 2017 at 2:16 PM Oct 1, 2017 at 2:16 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat The killer of an Ashland restaurant cook was a California man who'd run out of gas, but it may never be known what prompted the murder or the ensuing episode in which he fired a rifle from the freeway before an Eagle Point man ran him over. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office identified Neal Brian Norman, 50, of Pacific Grove, California, as the shooter involved in the seemingly random homicide at Callahan's lodge and the chaotic incident that for hours closed southbound Interstate 5 near the California border. Norman arrived at the lodge early Saturday morning in his white 1999 Honda Accord, which had run out of gas, according to Sheriff's Sgt. Julie Denney. Norman first came into the lobby to use the phone, went back to his car, grabbed a rifle and went to the kitchen and shot cook Ryan Paul Bagley, 40, of Ashland. Norman left the lodge in Bagley's maroon 1993 Subaru Legacy wagon, drove about five miles from the lodge to Milepost 1 of southbound Interstate 5, positioned the car in the middle of the roadway facing oncoming traffic and got out of the vehicle with the rifle, according to Denney, and apparently waited for traffic to approach. Motorist Thomas Bradley Moxon, 49, of Eagle Point, fatally struck Norman with his gray 2015 Ram Crew Cab pickup, after Norman fired multiple times at the truck using a rile. Norman's gunshots hit the vehicle at least three times, according to Denney. From the crime scene Saturday, the vehicle visibly leaked engine fluids and the driver-side front tire was shot. Moxon and his juvenile passenger were the first ones to encounter Norman on the freeway. They called 911 at 6:54 a.m., according to Denney, as did other motorists. Monterey County, California, criminal courts showed Norman had a very limited criminal history. Pacific Grove police arrested Norman only once, on Sept. 15, 1989. Details as to Norman's charges in that 1989 arrest were not immediately available Sunday. Norman has no criminal history in Oregon, Circuit Court records show. Reaching next-of-kin was a challenge for investigators Saturday, Denney said, particularly in the search for Norman's family because he was from out of the area. Family members told investigators that they were surprised at what Norman had done, though they said Norman had undiagnosed mental health problems. Investigators are still working to piece together what motivated Norman's actions, and ask anyone who may have had contact with him leading up to the shooting to contact detectives at 541-774-6800 and reference case number 17-20750.