The gunman who shot two kindergarteners in California was found to have lied about registering a student to gain entry and open fire on the children at a Christian school.
On Wednesday, an unidentified man opened fire at the K-8 Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, leaving two young boys, ages 5 and 6, in critical condition.
Authorities believe the gunman may have faked a meeting about registering a student at the school to gain access to the grounds. However, officers do not believe a child was with him.
The suspected gunman had arrived in an Uber and met with the school administrator, who described their meeting as “cordial,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a news release Wednesday.
“After the conversation with the manager on Wednesday, gunshots were heard,” Honea said.
California Highway Patrol Officers received 911 calls from the school around 1 p.m., according to Sheriff Honea, and arrived on scene to find the suspected shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The suspected shooter was found with a gun near playground equipment on the school grounds.
“Whether or not this is a hate crime or whether or not it’s part of a larger plan, at this point I don’t have enough information to answer that,” he said.
On Wednesday, an unidentified man opened fire after an encounter with the administrator of the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists.
“I am grateful they are alive, but they have a long road ahead of them,” Sheriff Kory Honea said in a news release Wednesday.
According to Sheriff Honea, deputies arrived on scene and found the suspected shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a handgun near the playground equipment.
Honea added that after receiving additional information, they came to believe that “the individual responsible for the shooting targeted this school because of its ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
Sid Patel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said: ‘No father, no mother should have to endure what happened today’
He added that they are “still very early in the investigation” but believe that, with additional help from the FBI, they can they identified the suspect and were conducting interviews with possible associates.
Officers on the scene provided medical aid to the two young boys, who were then transported to a Sacramento area hospital where they are in “extremely critical condition,” according to Sheriff Honea.
“I’m grateful they’re alive, but they still have a long way to go,” the sheriff said.
A sixth grader, Jocelyn Orlando, shared it CBS News that during the terrifying ordeal, she helped her teacher comfort younger students while the shooter was outside the classroom.
“I thought to myself, what if I get shot, what will happen to my family and me,” she told the outlet.
Orlando said she tried to comfort the toddlers by telling them to “take a deep breath and think of something happy.”
According to Honea, the suspect arrived in an Uber and met with the school administrator, who described their meeting as “cordial.” The meeting was said to be about registering a child at the school, and gunshots were heard shortly afterwards
The remaining students were loaded onto a school bus and taken to Oroville Church of the Nazarene, where they were reunited with their parents and relatives.
“I told the little students to close their eyes and cover their ears because he was walking back and forth from the window… we all don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I don’t really know… It was really sad,” she added.
The school serves approximately 35 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, and the remaining students on campus were confined to the school gymnasium.
They were then loaded onto a school bus and taken to Oroville Church of the Nazarene, where they were reunited with their parents and relatives.
Dale Orlando, Jocelyn’s father, told the newspaper: “I was trying to get here as quickly as I could, as safely as I could, while inside I was panicking.”
“We are not the only city, school and family where this is happening, and this is not how life should be,” he added.
In a statement about X, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote: “Heartbreaking. Once again, a community is shattered by senseless gun violence. Our hearts are with the children, their families and everyone affected by this horrific tragedy. To the survivors of gun violence: You are never alone. California has your back.”
Honea added that while they believe the shooting is an “isolated incident,” an alert has been sent to law enforcement agencies throughout the state of California.