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Community Rallies Together After Kindergartners Injured in California School Shooting

In Citizen
January 19, 2025

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Two young children in kindergarten were taken to hospitals after being shot by a gunman at their rural school in Northern California. The authorities have reported that the suspect has a criminal background and mental health issues.

Written by Soumya Karlamangla and Orlando Mayorquín

Soumya Karlamangla provided information from San Francisco, while Orlando Mayorquín contributed from Oroville, California.

Two young students from kindergarten were going to the bathroom during lunchtime on Wednesday at Feather River Adventist School, just a quick trip before returning to class.

Instead, not long after that, they were shot and severely injured by someone with a gun.

Two young boys named Roman Mendez, aged 6, and Elias Wolford, aged 5, were quickly taken from their small school near Oroville, California. One was transported by ambulance and the other by helicopter, both urgently being taken to hospitals without any delay.

Vanessa Diaz expressed her distress over the situation, as she has been frequenting her brother Roman in the intensive care unit where he is still unresponsive. She described the experience as deeply saddening.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that the boys were now in a "critical but stable" condition, bringing some hope to the rural community located around 60 miles north of Sacramento. This community has faced a lot of tragedy in recent years. Residents were coming together to organize fundraisers, hold vigils, and raise money to support the victims and their families, similar to what they have done in the past in this agricultural area.

Residents in this area experienced the devastating Camp fire six years ago, resulting in the loss of 85 lives and the complete destruction of Paradise, located about 20 miles away. Just a year before this tragic event, residents in Oroville had to quickly evacuate their homes in fear of the Oroville Dam potentially bursting.

During the shooting that took place on Wednesday, authorities suspect that the shooter, Glenn Litton, 56, specifically chose to target the parochial school due to its connection to the Seventh-day Adventists, a branch of Protestant Christianity. Litton ultimately took his own life after the incident.

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