2 boys in ‘extremely critical condition’ after California school shooting. Gunman dead
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Butte County school shooting
Our reporters are on the ground in Oroville and Sacramento covering the aftermath of the shooting at Feather River Adventist, a school in rural Butte County. Read the latest coverage here.
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Two kindergartners, boys 5 and 6 years old, suffered critical wounds after a shooting Wednesday at a faith-based elementary school, where an alleged shooter appeared to target the campus before fatally shooting himself, Northern California authorities said.
A lone gunman had an appointment with a school administrator at Feather River Adventist School on Cox Lane in Oroville to discuss enrolling a child. A principal heard screaming after the meeting ended about 1 p.m. as gunfire broke out outside, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea during a news conference.
Deputies are investigating if the alleged shooter’s appointment was a “ruse” and whether he intended to single out the school, which has only about three dozen students, based on its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Honea said deputies are also investigating whether the incident should be classified as a hate crime but declined to say what information led them to believe the man targeted the school, located along Highway 70 between Gridley and Palermo. Police officers in nearby Oroville, Chico and Paradise were dispatched to protect other Adventist schools in the area after Honea alerted them.
The meeting between the gunman and principal was cordial, prompting no initial concerns for the school, Honea said.
The sheriff said the two boys with “very, very serious” wounds were taken to Sacramento-area hospitals to receive medical treatment. One of them was taken by helicopter. Honea during a 7 p.m. news conference said the two boys were in “extremely critical condition.”
“They have a long road ahead of them.”
Honea said Wednesday evening that authorities believe they know the identity of the gunman, but his name had not yet been publicly released as they continued to interview people who knew him. The shooter did not appear to have a relationship with the students or the school, Honea said, and the man did not have a student with him at the campus Wednesday.
Carrying a handgun, the man arrived on campus in a gray, four-door sedan driven to the school via an Uber ride, Honea said. The sheriff said the ride-hailing driver was talking with authorities about what he knew.
Deputies after the shooting sequestered the remaining 35 students in the gym. They were then bused to Oroville Church of Nazarene, 10 miles north, where they were reunited with their parents. Crisis counselors and chaplains were also on hand to help the children process the tragedy that had unfolded.
Investigators were expected to remain on the campus into at least early Thursday morning. It was not clear when the school would reopen, and Honea said school officials were working with the county’s superintendent of schools and law enforcement to determine the next steps.
The small size of the school meant it did not have any guards or school resource officers on campus, Honea said.
Honea said the Sheriff’s Office was the lead agency in what he described as a “complex” investigation and that the FBI was called to assist in the investigation. FBI Special Agent In Charge Siddhartha “Sid” Patel confirmed the Sacramento field office was “providing support” with evidence collection and field agents.
“No father, no mother, should have to endure what happened today,” Patel said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted about the shooting Wednesday evening on X, formerly Twitter.
“Heartbreaking,” Newsom wrote. “Once again, a community is shattered by senseless gun violence. Our hearts are with the children, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific tragedy. To the survivors of gun violence: You are never alone. California stands with you.”
Newsom’s office was also monitoring the shooting, Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos said in a statement.
Highway 70 was closed for several hours near Palermo, according to the California Highway Patrol, and motorists were asked to use Highway 99 as a detour; Highway 70 has since reopened.
Honea said residents in the area were being escorted to their homes but the roadway was expected to remain closed until parts of the crime scene visible to motorists were addressed.
Honea implored residents to come forward if they knew anything about the suspected shooter by calling the Sheriff’s Office at 530-538-7322.
Shooting happened at small Northern California campus
The Feather River Adventist School is a K-8 campus run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to provide a “spiritually oriented education for children,” according to its website, which said the school had an enrollment of 33 students as of early 2022. The campus is located just off Highway 70, east of Gridley and south of Oroville and Palermo, roughly 60 miles north of Sacramento.
The National Center for Educational Statistics said the school had roughly three dozen students across kindergarten through seventh grade in the 2021-22 school year.
Honea said the first 911 call from the school came at 1:08 p.m. Due to the school’s proximity to Highway 70, it was routed to a CHP dispatch center. CHP dispatchers immediately contacted the Sheriff’s Office.
A CHP officer was the first to arrive at the scene at 1:10 p.m. and located the deceased suspect. Sheriff’s deputies arrived four minutes later.
Schools in the area, such as Las Plumas High School and campuses within the Palmero Unified School District, said in statements that there were no threats to their sites.
“Our sympathies are with the children and families of Feather River Adventist and we are working with them to provide support however we can,” the Butte County Office of Education said in a statement.
Assemblymember James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, said in a statement his heart breaks for everyone impacted by this tragedy and that he is grateful for law enforcement. He added the community will be “hugging our loved ones closer today as we pray for the victims and try to make sense of something so senseless.”
“We will never understand why or how someone could do a thing like this,” Gallagher said.
“I hope that people can appreciate how tough this is for the students of the school, the faculty of the school, the members of this community, all the first responders,” Honea told news reporters. “We’re doing everything we can to determine what happened in addition to making sure that everybody is safe.
“When you are talking about little kids like this, who cannot defend themselves,” Honea later added, “it just really tears at the heart.”
Heartache, disbelief in the community
Elizabeth Lepe Arredondo, a former teacher at Feather River Adventist, said the school provided the full package: safety for students and a solid mission.
She was impressed by how staff began their day by prayer and boasted a tight-knit culture for families who all knew each other. It provided traditional education teachings as well as religious studies, she said.
The 49-year-old mother of five trusted the school to teach her three children, remembering it fondly as the best job she ever had.
So hearing about the shooting Wednesday broke her heart and brought disbelief.
“Children are sacred,” said Arredondo, who worked at the school for about two years in the late 2000s. “Schools should be treated the same way.”
The school had a very supportive culture, connected to the Seventh-day Adventist churches in both Gridley and Oroville, she said.
Reconciling the church’s culture and ethos with the tragic events of Wednesday proved disheartening for Arredondo. Her voice wavered with emotion as she spoke hours after the shooting.
“I cannot believe we live in a world where things like this happen.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 2:08 PM.
