12 views 3 mins 0 comments

Community Support and Resilience: Kindergartners Recover After California School Shooting

In Citizen
January 19, 2025

Prom

Backed by

Two young children in kindergarten are in a "critical but stable" condition after being shot by a gunman at their rural school in Northern California. The suspect, who has a history of criminal activity and mental health issues, has been taken into custody. The children were quickly taken to hospitals for treatment.

Written 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 going to the bathroom during lunchtime on Wednesday at Feather River Adventist School. This was just a quick trip before they returned to their classroom.

Shortly after, they were shot and severely injured by someone with a gun.

Two young boys, 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 being rushed to hospitals without any delay.

Vanessa Diaz expressed her distress over the situation, mentioning that it was difficult to see her brother Roman in the intensive care unit while he is still in an unconscious state. She described the experience as heartbreaking.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that the boys’ conditions had improved to "critical but stable", providing some hope to the rural community located about 60 miles north of Sacramento. This community has faced a lot of hardship in recent years. Residents are coming together to organize fundraisers, hold vigils, and raise money to support the victims and their families, just like 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 destruction of Paradise, located around 20 miles away. In addition, the year before the fire, residents in Oroville had to evacuate on short notice due to fears of the Oroville Dam potentially collapsing.

During the shooting incident on Wednesday, it is believed by authorities that the shooter, named Glenn Litton, aged 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.

We are currently experiencing difficulty in accessing the content of the article.

Make sure to activate JavaScript in the settings of your web browser

We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.

We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.

Are you currently a member? Please sign in.

Interested in accessing all of The Times’ content? Subscribe now.

Prom

Index of Pages

Navigation to Site Information