District Attorney Mike Ferguson talks to reporters at a press conference Thursday. (Photo by Ben Furtado)

Scott Thorpe will be charged today with three counts each of murder and attempted murder, according to Nevada County District Attorney Mike Ferguson, who said he will "strongly, strongly consider" seeking the death penalty despite the alleged gunman's mental illness.

"Given the state of the evidence as I see it now, seeking the death penalty will be given serious consideration," Ferguson said at a Thursday press conference at the Rood Administrative Center.

Ferguson said he has the option of charging Thorpe with special circumstances - multiple murder - that allow seeking the death penalty. The killings marked the first time the county has had more than a double murder in more than 30 years, he said.

Thorpe is being held at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility without bail and, according to Sheriff Keith Royal, hasn't spoken with investigators.

Royal didn't know if Thorpe had talked to a lawyer, but he said Thorpe's brother, Sacramento Police Sgt. Kent Thorpe - who negotiated his younger brother's surrender by phone - was in Nevada City Thursday to talk with the suspect and investigators.

The 40-year-old Smartville man was arrested at his home at 9 p.m. Wednesday, less than 10 hours after he allegedly killed two people at the county Behavioral Health Department and a third at Lyon's Restaurant, the Sheriff's Department reported.

Two others suffered gunshot wounds and another victim broke her pelvis and leg after she leaped from a second-story window at the county Health Education and Welfare Building to escape the gunfire.

Thorpe fired 10 bullets at each site with a 9 mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun, Royal said. The weapon was found at Thorpe's house, 15 miles west of Grass Valley, and contained a high-capacity clip that can hold more than 20 rounds, the sheriff said. Spent 9 mm shells were found at both shooting sites.

The shootings took place roughly 10 minutes apart and ended before 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. A Smartville neighbor, Gary Dalbey, said he saw Thorpe driving a small red pickup in their Mooney Flat Road neighborhood at about 3 p.m.

But authorities had looked for a blue minivan or station wagon soon after the shootings. California Highway Patrol Officer David Qualls, the first officer at the restaurant, said Thorpe's alleged getaway vehicle, a blue Ford Aerostar van, was impounded by the Sheriff's Department.

Thorpe phoned his brother at 5 p.m. and admitted shooting the five victims, Royal said. He said the alleged gunman later spoke with his brother during two hours of negotiations that began at 7 p.m.

By 9 p.m., he was in custody without further incident.

Friends and family said Thorpe suffered from mental illness, but Royal said he wasn't sure what triggered the shootings. He reiterated his theory that none of the victims was targeted.

"Chances are, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

The Sheriff's Department delayed releasing jail mug shots of Thorpe Thursday until possible witnesses reviewed a photo lineup.

Dan Gibson, the department's crisis intervention officer, said a phone crisis hot line, 265-7001, will be available to anyone traumatized by the shootings.

"This event has really unsettled and brought disbelief to many," Gibson said at the press conference. "We're preparing to reach out to them and support them in any way we can."

County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Elizabeth Martin gave brief descriptions of some victims. She choked up when discussing Laura Wilcox, a 19-year-old temporary Behavioral Health worker who baby-sat Martin's children.

Wilcox, like the alleged gunman, also lived in Martin's district, said the chairwoman, who also commended county employees for their resiliency.

"This county had an extraordinary response to a terrible tragedy," she said.

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How To Get Help

-- Anyone who needs help coping with Wednesday's shootings can call a county crisis line Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 265-7001.

-- Dr. Joseph Carman (477-6360) and Dr. Michael Elliott (885-2152) in Auburn are available for counseling at no charge. Call for an appointment. Dr. Carman's phone number in Thursday's edition on page A7 was incorrect.

-- Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital counselors will be available at 274-6216. Leave a number and a counselor will call you back.

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