Deputies investigate shots fired into Willow Creek home, red Hummer seen

Gunfire struck an occupied home on The Terrace Road in Willow Creek, leaving Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies trying to piece together who fired from a red Hummer and why. No injuries were reported, but the report has put a small river community on alert as investigators work a case that could have turned deadly.

Deputies were dispatched May 9 at about 7:40 p.m. to the 1000 block of The Terrace Road after a report of shots fired into a residence. The resident told investigators he was inside the home when the shots were fired. During the initial investigation, deputies developed information indicating that a red Hummer drove in front of the residence and that shots were fired from the vehicle into the home.

The sheriff’s office has not announced a suspect identification, and the vehicle remains one of the few public details that could help neighbors connect what they saw or heard to the crime scene. Investigators have not said how many rounds were fired or whether the shooter was acting alone. The case remained under investigation as of the sheriff’s public notice posted May 12.

For Willow Creek, the incident lands in a place where residents depend on a fast law-enforcement response and familiar local coverage. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office maintains a Willow Creek Resident Station, and in July 2025 Sheriff William Honsal announced Deputy William Kerr and Deputy Shirley Yanez as resident deputies assigned to the area. That local presence may help investigators follow up on witness accounts, doorbell footage and any sightings of the red Hummer in the neighborhood.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539. Anyone who saw a red Hummer near The Terrace Road around the time of the shooting, or who has video from the area, may hold the detail that helps deputies identify who opened fire on the occupied home.