Suspect Dead After California School Shooting

UPDATE Dec 5, 2024 12:30 AM CST

The two students hurt in a shooting at a Northern California school Wednesday are 5- and 6-year-old boys, both of them kindergarten students, and they remain hospitalized. Both were listed as being in "extremely critical" condition as of Wednesday night, ABC News reports. Meanwhile, police said the gunman was at the private Christian school to meet with the principal about possibly enrolling a new student, but it's not yet clear whether that reason was legitimate, KCRA reports. The shooting took place shortly after the meeting ended, NBC News reports. Police also believe it's possible the school was targeted because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Dec 4, 2024 6:15 PM CST

The suspected gunman is dead after a shooting that injured two elementary school students in a small town in Northern California, police say. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said a 911 call was received around 1pm Wednesday about a shooting at the Feather River Adventist School in Palermo, just south of Oroville, KCRA reports. The sheriff said officers found the suspected shooter dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Honea said two students with gunshot wounds were hospitalized. One of them was transported by helicopter.

The sheriff's office said it's not clear whether the shooting was random, but the suspect, an adult male, had no apparent connection to the school, which is run by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, per CBS News. KRCR reports that according to the private K-8 school's website, it has 33 students enrolled. (More school shooting stories.)