OROVILLE, Calif. — An alleged gunman is dead but two young children are in “extremely critical condition” after a man opened fire at a small religious school in Northern California.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said that the gunman didn’t have a connection to either the victims or Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, The Associated Press reported.
Honea said the person, whose name was not released, used an Uber to get to the school for a meeting with an administrator about registering a child there. It was the first visit to the school, police believe. Shortly after the meeting shots were fired and left two boys aged 5 and 6, wounded.
They were taken to a trauma center in the Sacramento area for treatment of “very very serious injuries,” The New York Times reported.
The gunman’s body was found near playground equipment on the school grounds. A gun was found nearby. Officials believed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot, CNN reported.
Officials believe that the school was chosen because of the connection to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, CNN reported. They are trying to determine if the meeting was a way to get access to the school.
The FBI is helping with the investigation, the Times reported.
Students were taken to a gymnasium until they were bused from the grounds to a nearby church to be reunited with their family members.
The school, which teaches children from kindergarten through eighth grade, was founded in 1965 in Oroville, California.
The school has only 35 students enrolled, Honea said, according to CNN. According to the school’s website, it has only four teachers, one of whom is also the principal and “is operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to provide a spiritually oriented education for children. A belief in the existence of the Creator God is fundamental in the philosophy of Seventh-day Adventist schools. We respect His divine authority and recognize His intervention in human affairs. We believe that true education develops the spiritual, mental, and physical powers of each student; preparing them for the joy of service in this life and for the higher joy of service in the life to come.”