Two kindergarten students remain in extremely critical condition after they were wounded in a shooting at a school north of Sacramento, authorities said on Wednesday.
The boys, aged 5 and 6, were being treated at local hospitals, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told an evening news conference, hours after a gunman opened fire at the Feather River Adventist School in the city of Oroville.
“I’m thankful that they are still alive, but they have a long road ahead of them,” Honea said.
A suspect was found dead at the scene with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Honea said. The man has been identified but could not be immediately named due to an ongoing, FBI-assisted investigation, he added.
Authorities had received information leading them to believe the suspect had targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Honea said.
Earlier in the day, the suspect had attended a meeting with a school administrator on campus, ostensibly to explore the possibility of enrolling a family member, the sheriff said.
No concerns were raised at the time and authorities were working to establish whether the meeting was a ruse for the suspect to enter the campus.
Law enforcement agencies across the state were urged to “be vigilant” and ensure schools associated with the church are safe, Honea added.
Sid Patel, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Sacramento field office, said investigators were looking into the “entire workup of the subject to get a better understanding of his motivation, ideology.”
Quick response
Calls from the Feather River Adventist School about an active shooter were received by authorities just after 1:08 p.m on Wednesday, Honea said. The school is a K-8 campus and has 35 students enrolled, according to Honea.
Within two minutes, a state highway patrol officer had arrived at the school, where a handgun was found near the body of the suspected shooter, he said.
Several minutes later, sheriff’s deputies arrived on campus and officers provided first aid to the two wounded students, Honea added.
Once the scene was secured, the remaining students were taken by bus to a nearby church to be reunited with their parents, the sheriff said.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey told the news conference his office was assisting the students and their families.
“That will be going on now for weeks, obviously months,” he said. “Not only the children that were previously injured, but those children that saw their classmates gunned down in front of them.”
In a statement, a communications director with the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“Join us as we lift up these children and their families in prayer,” the statement said. “We are grateful for the brave officers of the Butte County Sheriff’s Department who acted quickly to protect our students.”
By Emma Tucker, CNN