The gunman who opened fire at young children outside a California religious school on Wednesday has been identified by police as Glenn Litton, who attacked after inquiring about enrolling a child at the school.
Litton, 56, was found dead at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.
He had suffered from mental illness and reportedly left a note stating that his actions had been in protest against U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
How many children were injured in the shooting?
Two children, both kindergarten students, were injured in the shooting. They were taken to local hospitals in extremely critical condition.
The sheriff's office identified the victims as 6-year-old Roman Mendez and 5-year-old Elias Wolford. Mendez was shot twice and Wolford was shot once in the abdomen, Honea said. They are both now in critical but stable condition.
What happened at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists?
Authorities received reports of an active shooter at the school just after 1:08 p.m. A state highway patrol officer arrived within two minutes and found a handgun near the suspect's body, Honea said.
Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene several minutes later and provided aid to the wounded students.
Officials secured the scene and took the students to a nearby church to be reunited with their families.
Sixth-grade student Jocelyn Orlando described what she witnessed to CBS News Sacramento.
"I told the kindergartners to take deep breaths and think of something happy," Orlando said. "We were going in from lunch recess and basically everyone in my classroom heard shooting and most people were screaming."
Orlando and some of her classmates tried to comfort the younger students.
"I told the little graders to close their eyes and cover their ears because he was pacing back and forth from the window," Orlando said. "We all don't know what's going to happen next."
The small K-8 school has less than three dozen students.
California school shooting gunman: What we know
Litton attended a Seventh-Day Adventist school in Paradise as a child and may have had a family member who attended the Feather River school years ago, Honea said. Authorities do not believe he had any current connection to the school.
Officials found a statement believed to be written by Litton stating that "child executions" were imposed at the school in response to "America's involvements in genocide and oppression of Palestinians" and attacks in Yemen. He also said he was attacking the school on behalf of the "International Alliance," but officials have not found any evidence of the organization's existence.
"We believe that this was an isolated incident and he was a sole individual who targeted this school based on the beliefs that he held," Honea said.
Litton met with an administrator prior to the shooting to discuss enrolling his grandson at the school. Honea described the meeting as "cordial."
Honea said that Litton does not have a grandson and the purpose of the meeting was to get inside the school.
He was dropped off by an Uber driver, who is being interviewed by investigators.
After the meeting, Litton walked toward the parking lot, then turned around and headed to the playground. Litton then pulled out his firearm as students were finishing recess and returning to class.
The alleged gunman's body was found near the slide and other playground equipment on the school's grounds.
Officials said Litton was homeless, had a lengthy criminal history and struggled with mental health. His previous convictions included theft, fraud and forgery.
He was arrested last month by San Francisco police on suspicion of being in possession of a stolen U-Haul truck and a forged license and having an outstanding warrant in San Bernardino County for burglary.
The forged license contained the name Michael Sanders, which is the same name Litton used to schedule his appointment at the school.
Newsweek reached out to the Butte County Sheriff's Office for additional comment.
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