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Two young children in kindergarten are in stable condition after being shot at their rural school in Northern California. The gunman, who has a history of criminal behavior and mental health issues, shot the boys before being apprehended by authorities.
Authored by Soumya Karlamangla and Orlando Mayorquín
Soumya Karlamangla provided coverage from San Francisco, while Orlando Mayorquín reported from Oroville, California.
Two young children in kindergarten were walking to the bathroom during lunch on a Wednesday at Feather River Adventist School. It was a quick trip before returning to their classroom.
However, not long after, they were shot and seriously injured by a shooter.
Two young boys named Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolford, 5, were quickly taken from their small school near Oroville, California. One was taken in an ambulance and the other in a helicopter, both being rushed to hospitals urgently.
Vanessa Diaz expressed her distress at the situation, mentioning that it is difficult to see her brother Roman in the intensive care unit, where he is still unresponsive. She described the situation as heartbreaking.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that the boys had shown improvement and were now in "critical but stable" condition. This news brought hope to the rural community located 60 miles north of Sacramento, which has faced a lot of hardship in recent years. The residents were coming together to organize fundraisers, hold vigils, and raise money to support the victims and their families, as they have done in the past in this agricultural area.
Residents in this area experienced the devastating Camp fire six years ago, which resulted in the loss of 85 lives and the destruction of the town of Paradise, located approximately 20 miles away. Just a year prior to this fire, residents in Oroville had to quickly pack their belongings and evacuate the town due to fears of a potential collapse of the Oroville Dam.
During the shooting on Wednesday, it is believed by authorities that the shooter, named Glenn Litton, 56, specifically chose to target the parochial school due to its connection with the Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant Christian group. Litton later took his own life.
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