A gunman in the US state of California who shot and wounded two children aged 6 and 5 at a school before shooting himself to death used a “guise” to gain entry to the school.
The children were in critical but stable condition and were being treated at a trauma center, officials said Thursday.
The attack happened Wednesday at a school affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church near Oroville, California, about 55 miles (89km) from Sacramento.
Investigators said they believe the gunman targeted the school because it was affiliated with the church and was promoted as a response to the war in Gaza.
The sheriff said Thursday that a note was found detailing the gunman’s motives. The letter said he sought to carry out “child executions” as a “response to America’s involvement in genocide and repression of Palestinians along with attacks on Yemen”.
Authorities said the gunman had a long criminal and mental health history, including years of theft, fraud and forgery convictions.
The shooting occurred shortly after 13:00 local time (21:00 GMT) at Feather River Seventh-day Adventist School.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said gunman Glenn Litton, 56, was scheduled to meet with school administrators to discuss enrolling a student – a ruse police said he had a history of breaking and entering. enter school.
Sheriff Honea said the meeting seemed cordial and Litton went sightseeing, but things changed when the gunman walked toward the bathroom and began shooting. Gunfire was fired at students outside the classroom, injuring two preschool-aged children.
Police said the gunman then turned the gun on himself. First responders found him dead with the gun near his body.
The remaining 35 children from the school were then transferred to a church, where they were reunited with their families.
Police Chief Honea said Wednesday that the young victims suffered “very, very serious” injuries.
“I’m grateful they’re still alive, but they have a long way to go.”
Police Chief Honea previously said investigators “received some information that leads us to believe that the individual responsible for the shooting targeted this school because of its affiliation with Seventh-day Adventist Church”.
He previously noted that authorities believed the shooting was an isolated incident, but a statewide warning was sent to other schools affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be extra cautious. important.
The church is a Protestant Christian denomination with more than 21 million members worldwide. According to the North American Board of Seventh-day Adventists, there are one million members of the church in North America.
