Two kindergarten students critical but stable after school shooting at California Christian school

BUTTE COUNTY, CA - Two young kindergarten students remain in critical but stable condition in a California hospital after a gunman opened fire at a Christian grammar school located in the county located about 90 minutes north of the state capital of Sacramento, CNN reports.

The Feather River Adventist School, which teaches children from kindergarten to eighth grade, reported an active shooter just after 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. A trooper from the California Highway Patrol was first on the scene and found the wounded children with the suspect, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, also lying nearby. 

The suspect has been identified by Butte County Sheriff's Office as 56-year-old Glen Litton, a homeless man with a long criminal history. 

ABC News reported that Litton met with a school administrator earlier in the day to discuss enrolling a student in the school, which has a total of only 35 students, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. 

While it is unknown if the meeting with school administrators was legitimate, it may have been a ruse to get into the school. School staff described the meeting as “cordial,” and they were not concerned about Litton’s demeanor. It was shortly after the meeting that shots rang out, Honea said. 

Authorities said while the suspect had been identified, investigators were still trying to determine a motive. Honea said one theory was that the school was targeted because of its affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 

“Out of an abundance of caution, we sent an alert out to law enforcement agencies throughout the state of California, advising them of this shooting and advising them that the subject may have targeted this school because of its affiliation with that particular religious organization,” the sheriff said. 

“Our request of those law enforcement agencies was to be vigilant and make sure that those schools are safe and the students are still safe,” he continued. 

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination whose followers believe the Bible is the infallible word of God and believe in the second coming of Christ. According to CNN, there are approximately 1.2 million Seventh-Day Adventist members in the US and Canada and nearly 22 million worldwide. 

Investigators say Litton did not have a vehicle and was dropped off at the school by an Uber driver, with whom authorities have spoken. 

“We’re working to essentially reconstruct this individual’s activities over the course of today as well as into the past to determine why…he did the things that he did,” Honea said. 

CNN said one girl, sixth-grader Jocelyn Orlando, told them she tried to keep other students calm by sharing encouragement with them as they stood outside from where the shooter was inside the building. 

“I told the kindergarteners to take deep breaths and just think of something happy,” Jocelyn told CNN affiliate KOVR. 

“I told the little graders to close their eyes and cover their ears because he was pacing back and forth from the window,” Jocelyn said. 

Jocelyn’s father was stunned by the shooting, saying that “the presumption is that it’s [private school] the safest place a parent can send their child.”

Authorities were looking at all possible motives for the shooting and whether it was part of a bigger plot. 

“Whether or not this is a hate crime, or whether or not it’s part of some sort of larger scheme at his point, I don’t have enough information to provide an answer to that,” Honea said. He did confirm there was no prior connection between the shooter and his victims, and he had no prior connection to the school. 

“I’m thankful that they are still alive, but they [the victims] have a long road ahead of them,” Honea continued. 

Honea praised law enforcement's quick response, noting that the CHP officer arrived within two minutes. Minutes later, sheriff’s deputies arrived on campus and provided first aid to the victims. Once the scene was secured, the remaining students were transported by bus to a nearby church and reunited with their parents. 

Meanwhile, Travis Marshall, the church's lead pastor, told CNN that the reunification process between parents and their children was “very emotional.” 

“It was a very emotionally charged, traumatic, and grief-filled event as parents arrived not knowing exactly the details, not knowing if their child was injured or not,” Marshall said.

Upon being notified of the incident by the sheriff’s office, 10 church representatives and dozens of county sheriffs came to the scene to assist in reunification efforts. 

“A lot of outbursts, praise, and tears,” Marshall said. “A lot of hugging going on. Yesterday was one of those events where you get a shared sense of humanity.” 

CNN said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey promised to help families through the process. 

That will be going on now for weeks, obviously months,” Ramsey said. “Not only the children that were previously injured but those children that saw their classmates gunned down in front of them.” 

The communications director for the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists asked for prayers for the students and their families while praising law enforcement. 

“Join us as we lift up these children and their families in prayer,” he said in a statement. “We are grateful for the brave officers of the Butte County Sheriff’s Department who acted quickly to protect our students.” 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom took the occasion of the shooting to politicize it while railing against gun violence in a post on X, where he said, “Once again, a community is shattered by senseless gun violence. Our hearts are with the children, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific tragedy. To the survivors of gun violence: You are never alone. California stands with you.” 

The FBI is assisting the Butte County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.