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| California police identify school shooter as two children critical in hospital | California police identify school shooter as two children critical in hospital |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Officials decline to disclose name of gunman who wounded children at Oroville religious school before killing himself | Officials decline to disclose name of gunman who wounded children at Oroville religious school before killing himself |
| Officials in northern California have identified the man who shot two kindergarteners at a religious elementary school on Wednesday afternoon before turning the gun on himself, the Butte county sheriff’s office said. | Officials in northern California have identified the man who shot two kindergarteners at a religious elementary school on Wednesday afternoon before turning the gun on himself, the Butte county sheriff’s office said. |
| The man, whose identity officials have not yet released, shot a five-year-old and a six-year-old at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists just outside Oroville, a city of 20,000 people in the state’s far north, at about 1pm. A California highway patrol officer who arrived on the scene minutes later found a man dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Kory Honea, the Butte county sheriff, told reporters. | |
| The boys were severely injured and are in critical but stable condition, the sheriff’s office said on Thursday morning. | |
| The sheriff’s office is still in the early stages of its investigation, Honea said, and is being aided by the FBI. | The sheriff’s office is still in the early stages of its investigation, Honea said, and is being aided by the FBI. |
| Investigators have determined the suspect had an appointment with an administrator to discuss enrolling a family member at the private school, which serves about 35 students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade in the small Butte county community of Palermo. | Investigators have determined the suspect had an appointment with an administrator to discuss enrolling a family member at the private school, which serves about 35 students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade in the small Butte county community of Palermo. |
| He was dropped off on campus by an Uber driver, who authorities are interviewing, and the man’s meeting with school staff was described as “cordial”, Honea said. | He was dropped off on campus by an Uber driver, who authorities are interviewing, and the man’s meeting with school staff was described as “cordial”, Honea said. |
| “There wasn’t anything about the meeting that gave rise to concerns by the administrator,” he said. | “There wasn’t anything about the meeting that gave rise to concerns by the administrator,” he said. |
| The shooting occurred after the meeting as the students were returning to class after a lunch recess, Jocelyn Orlando, a sixth grader, told CBS News Sacramento. | |
| “We were going in for lunch recess and basically everybody in my classroom heard shooting and most people were screaming,” she said. “We all went into the office, we closed the curtains, locked the doors, basically did what we would do in a school shooting, and then one of the teachers came and we all ran into the gym.” | “We were going in for lunch recess and basically everybody in my classroom heard shooting and most people were screaming,” she said. “We all went into the office, we closed the curtains, locked the doors, basically did what we would do in a school shooting, and then one of the teachers came and we all ran into the gym.” |
| The man appears to have killed himself after the shooting, Honea said. A handgun was found near his body, which was near the slide and other playground equipment at the school. | |
| Authorities believe the shooter did not have a connection to the victims or the school. They are trying to determine his motive but believe he may have targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventist church. Investigators are working to reconstruct his activities before the shooting, Honea said, and are trying to contact his family before sharing his identity with the public. | Authorities believe the shooter did not have a connection to the victims or the school. They are trying to determine his motive but believe he may have targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventist church. Investigators are working to reconstruct his activities before the shooting, Honea said, and are trying to contact his family before sharing his identity with the public. |
| The injured children are receiving treatment at a trauma center in the Sacramento area. | The injured children are receiving treatment at a trauma center in the Sacramento area. |
| “I am thankful that they’re still alive, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them,” Honea said. | “I am thankful that they’re still alive, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them,” Honea said. |
| Butte county has been the site of repeated tragedies in recent years – largely deadly wildfires, including the 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people, and the North Complex fire. In 2022, a man opened fire on a Greyhound bus, killing one person, a 43-year old traveling with her two children, and injuring four others, including a pregnant woman. | |
| “Here we are again in Butte county dealing with another major incident, major tragedy,” Honea said. “This community has endured so much in the last three years, it’s hard to believe we’re back here again.” | “Here we are again in Butte county dealing with another major incident, major tragedy,” Honea said. “This community has endured so much in the last three years, it’s hard to believe we’re back here again.” |