A California Highway Patrol vehicle in Lyon's Restaurant parking lot.

GRASS VALLEY, Calif., 9:38 p.m. PST January 10, 2001 - Three people were killed and two others wounded at a county office and restaurant Wednesday by a gunman who investigators believe was a mental patient convinced that the restaurant was trying to poison him.

The suspected gunman remains at large.

Officials say that a man went into the county social services building in Nevada City at about 11:30 a.m. and shot three people at the outpatient mental health clinic with a handgun, killing a 19-year-old woman who worked there and a visiting 68-year-old caregiver, Sheriff Keith Royal said.

The sheriff identified the woman wounded at the county building as Judith Edzards, 49. She was in critical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

A fourth person, Daisy Switzer, reportedly broke her leg jumping from a window to escape.

That report was followed by another report of multiple shooting victims at a Lyons restaurant on Brunswick Road in Grass Valley.

Restaurant manager Mike Markle, 24, was shot and killed. And a cook, 34-year-old Richard Senuty, was wounded but reportedly in good condition at the Sierra Nevada Hospital in Grass Valley.

A 37-year-old woman shot at the restaurant was brought to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds and was listed in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Two county employees were also being treated at the hospital: one who hurt a foot while fleeing the county health building, and one receiving treatment for emotional trauma.

Residents in the area are being told to avoid Willow Valley Road in Nevada City and the Brunswick Road area in Grass Valley.

Authorities said that they believe the man was unhappy with the mental-health care he received at the county clinic, and feared he was being poisoned at the restaurant.

"It is a dark day for our county," county board Chairwoman Elizabeth Martin told reporters. "I'm here to express our deep grief and horror at this loss to our community and offer our condolences to the families."

The suspect remains at large.

He is described as a man in his 50's, wearing a red or red plaid jacket, carrying a blue backpack. The suspect is believed to driving a blue minivan or Power Wagon.

All Nevada County buildings and schools in the area were reportedly in a lockdown.

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