According to the Butte County sheriff, authorities suspect that the gunman may have targeted the California Seventh-day Adventist school where two young boys were gravely injured in a shooting on Wednesday due to its involvement with a particular denomination.
According to Sheriff Kory L. Honea, the shooting occurred at approximately 1 p.m. on the campus of Feather River Adventist School, which is close to Palermo.
The gunman had previously spoken with the principal regarding the enrollment of a student.
“Shortly after concluding that meeting, the principal heard shots being fired, heard screams, and that’s when they determined or found that the students had been shot,” Honea stated.
According to Honea, the two kids, who were boys aged five and six, were in “extremely critical condition” in a hospital on Wednesday night. The injuries were detailed as “very, very serious.”
The children are in “critical but stable condition” and are still receiving care at a hospital, according to an update released by the sheriff’s office on Thursday.
Law officials recovered a firearm next to the shooter, who was dead from what seemed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he added.
Although the suspect has been positively identified, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday that investigators are “diligently working to establish the motive.”
The sheriff’s office acquired evidence on Wednesday, according to Honea, “that leads us to believe that the subject responsible for the shooting targeted this school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
“There is no connection between the shooter and the school victims,” Honea stated.
He stated that investigators are attempting to ascertain whether the discussion regarding a family member’s potential enrollment was genuine or merely a ploy to get access to the school. According to him, there was nothing that worried the administrator, and the meeting was friendly.
K–8 Feather River Adventist School has roughly 35 pupils, according to Honea. About 60 miles north of Sacramento, in Butte County, it is located close to Palermo and south of Oroville.
Honea stated that the children that were shot were kindergarteners.
Before officials arranged busses to bring the other students back to their parents at a church in Oroville, they were confined in a gymnasium.
Although the sheriff’s office stated it alerted other law enforcement agencies out of caution, the incident is thought to have been limited to the school.
The identity of the shooter was not disclosed by authorities on Wednesday. According to Honea, the name was being kept secret because potential associates were being questioned.
He used an Uber to get to the school. According to Honea, the driver has been identified and was being questioned about any remarks made by the shooter during the ride.
Around 1:08 p.m., the California Highway Patrol received 911 calls from cell phones, and sheriff’s deputies and the patrol responded right away, according to Honea.
He said the first person on the site, a member of the Highway Patrol, discovered the gunman dead.
The probe is being supported by the FBI.
“We’re doing an entire work-up of the subject, to get a better understanding of his motivation, ideology — what else could help understand today’s situation and incident,” FBI office in Sacramento senior agent in charge Sid Patel stated during a press conference on Wednesday evening.
Honea described the shooting as awful and horrifying.
