Updated Dec. 5, 11:40 a.m.
Two children were injured and one man is dead after a shooting at a private K-8 school in Butte County.
Around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, an adult man walked into the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists and fired shots at students on the playground, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
Deputies responded to the school — which is located between Palmero and Oroville on Highway 70 — and found the man dead. A handgun was also found nearby.
“[He] appeared to have sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Honea said.
Two students, 5 and 6 year old boys, were also found with gunshot wounds and taken to local hospitals for treatment. On Thursday morning, Butte County Sheriff deputies said the boys were in "critical but stable condition as they continue to receive treatment."
“I’m thankful that they’re still alive but they have a long road ahead of them,” Honea said at a Wednesday evening press conference.
Other students on campus were gathered in the gymnasium while law enforcement made sure no other suspects were on campus. They were then bused to the Oroville Church of the Nazarene, where Butte County Sheriff organized a reunification point for families of students at the school.
“We have crisis counselors responding to the school as well as chaplains and representatives from the Seventh Day Adventist Church to help us deal with that part of this event and take care of the immediate needs of all of the students and faculty who were here,” Honea said.
Families wait to be reunified with their students at the Oroville Nazarene Church on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Earlier that day, two students were injured in a shooting at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville.Alec Stutson, NSPR
The suspected shooter’s identity was not released as of Wednesday evening. Honea said the man came to the school to inquire about enrolling a family member as a student, and was dropped off by an Uber driver. The Uber driver was being questioned Wednesday night.
“[The suspect] did meet with a school administrator,” Honea said. “I’m told that the meeting went well, it was cordial, there wasn’t anything about the meeting that gave rise to concerns by the administrator. At this point, we’re trying to determine the veracity of that statement.”
After the meeting, the school administrator reported hearing gunshots and called 911.
The sheriff added that the suspect may have targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
“The preliminary information I have right now and what we’re currently seeing leads me to — at this point — believe that this is an isolated incident,” he said.
But he also added that Butte County deputies have reached out to Chico, Paradise and Oroville police departments asking them to mobilize officers to Seventh Day Adventist schools in their respective jurisdictions. They also sent an alert to all California law enforcement agencies about the shooting.
“Whether or not this is a hate crime or whether or not it’s part of some larger scheme, at this point I don’t have enough information to provide an answer to that,” Honea said. “That’s one of the things that we are currently working on and before I provide information about that I want to be relatively confident. I don’t think this is the time to speculate.”
The FBI has been brought in to assist with the investigation.
“As of now we have our evidence response team deployed, we have our victim specialists here to help with family members, we have our special agents out in the field working concurrently to assist with investigative efforts,” said Siddhartha Patel, Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento FBI office. “We’re doing an entire workup of the subject to get a better understanding of his motivation, ideology, what else could help us understand today’s situation.”
Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists enrolls roughly 33 students between kindergarten and eighth grade, according to a 2022 post on its website. It has been in operation since 1965.
Dozens of deputies were still on campus when crime scene investigators arrived around 3:20 p.m., according to CapRadio reporters on scene. Honea said law enforcement would likely remain present on campus for several days.
Oroville Mayor David Pittman said it’s usually an idyllic campus.
“It’s just a nice, quiet little school that you’d want all your kids to go to because it’s just that little perfect elementary school,” he said in an interview with CapRadio. “You know, the beautiful playground outside. You can just tell they want to take care of the kids.”
He also says that while the city’s still putting together its response, it’ll likely heighten security until the holidays or law enforcement confirms the shooter’s motive.
“If you see an officer out there at a school, he’s probably there just to provide that extra level of security and safety because right now, everybody’s rattled,” Pittman said.
State Assembly member James Gallagher, who represents the Butte County area, called the incident “senseless” in a post on social media.
“My heart is breaking for everyone impacted by this tragedy. We will never understand why or how someone could do a thing like this,” he said. “I am grateful for the bravery of the law enforcement, fire and medical personnel who responded to this attack to stop the shooter and rescue the victims.”
And California Governor Gavin Newsom called the shooting "heartbreaking" in a Wednesday night post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
"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," he said. "To the survivors of gun violence: You are never alone. California stands with you."
North State Public Radio’s Ken Devol and Alec Stutson contributed to this report.
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