A suspected gunman shot two students at a religious school in Palermo, California before fatally shooting himself.
The two students at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists were taken to local hospitals after being shot with a handgun Wednesday afternoon. It is not known how many times they were shot at or hit.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Wednesday night they are in ‘extremely critical condition.’
The two students shot were boys – a five- and six-year-old – in the school’s kindergarten class, according to KRCR. Their full identities have not been revealed.
Honea revealed that the shooter had been dropped off at the school in an Uber vehicle and was set to meet with the principal Wednesday about ‘enrolling a student.’ Moments later, the principal heard gunshots and terrifying screams.
While initially, it appeared the gunman had no connection to the school, it is now believed he may have been affiliated with either the school or the nearby church. His full identity is not released yet and there’s no clear motive for the shooting.
A spokesperson for the Butte County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to DailyMail.com that the alleged shooter then ‘appears’ to have then taken his own life. His identity has not yet been released.
The private elementary school was put on lockdown on Wednesday afternoon.
A suspected gunman shot two students at a religious school in Palermo, California before fatally shooting himself
Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists was put on lockdown on Wednesday afternoon
Honea said the department received an emergency call at around 1pm local time, according to KCRA.
When deputies got to the campus, they found a man believed to be the shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. That man is dead.
‘We are very early on in this investigation. There is still a lot of unknown questions and answers that we’re trying to obtain,’ the sheriff added in a news conference.
Honea said that one of the students had to be airlifted to a local hospital. The sheriff’s office in neighboring Sutter County told the Sacramento Bee this is an ‘isolated incident’ that has been contained.
He confirmed that the school is ‘locked down and the threat has been neutralized. I don’t have concern for anybody’s safety here right now.’
Honea added that the FBI is assisting in the investigation.
Earlier today, the sheriff’s office confirmed the active incident.
‘BCSO is on scene of an active incident involving a shooting at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo,’ a spokesperson for the Butte County Sheriff’s Office previously told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘Parents are asked to respond to the church to be reunified with their children. The suspected shooter is deceased.’
The sheriff confirmed that the school is ‘locked down and the threat has been neutralized. I don’t have concern for anybody’s safety here right now.’
According to its website, the religious school only has 33 students enrolled as of 2022, under the supervision of five teachers.
The students are being taken to the Oroville Church of the Nazarene, located at 2238 Monte Vista Avenue, Oroville.
The school advertises itself as intending to give a ‘spiritually oriented education for children.’
It has been teaching children in the same building since 1965.
Honea noted that this is a rural area with very few people in the building and they’re doing their best to take care of everyone.
‘I hope that people can appreciate how tough this is for the students of the school, the faculty of the school, the members of this community, all the first responders.’
‘We’re doing everything we can to determine what happened in addition to making sure that everybody is safe.’
California Highway Patrol has closed State Route 70 to northbound traffic near the school and are diverting traffic west.
Another southbound road is closed as well. Both closures are expected to last the next hour or so.
Palermo – home to about 5,500 people – is about 65 miles north of Sacramento.
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