Northern California authorities announced Wednesday afternoon that they have identified the man who fatally shot two kindergarteners at a religious elementary school before turning the gun on himself, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office released new details about the shooting at a media conference late Thursday afternoon. Butte County Sheriff Cory Honea told reporters the shooter was identified as 56-year-old Glenn Litton, who had a “long criminal history” of forgery and identity theft and a history of mental health issues. said.
The victims, Roman Mendez, 6, suffered two gunshot wounds, and Elias Wolford, 5, was shot once in the abdomen. Honea said the injured children will take a long time to recover and will likely require multiple surgeries. Still, he added, the fact that they survived was a “miracle.”
“What’s really important in this investigation is the victims, and of course we don’t want them to get lost in the whole story,” Honea said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the children’s medical care. As of Friday, $18,000 of the $50,000 goal had been raised.
Litton opened fire at the Seventh-day Adventist Feather River School on the outskirts of Oroville, a city of 20,000 people in the northernmost tip of the state, around 1 p.m. California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers arrived on the scene minutes later and found the man dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Honea said.
The sheriff’s office sent all available deputies in the county to the scene of the shooting. Honea said the first CHP officers dispatched to the school arrived within 90 seconds of the initial 911 call.
Investigators learned that Litton had met with administrators to discuss enrolling his family at the private school. The private school serves approximately 35 students from kindergarten through eighth grade in the small Butte County community of Palermo.
Litton was dropped off on campus by an Uber driver and authorities were questioning him, and Honea said Litton’s meeting with school officials was “amicable.”
“There was nothing about the meeting that would give administrators any concerns,” he said.
Jocelyn Orlando, a sixth-grader, told CBS News Sacramento that the shooting occurred after the assembly as students were returning to class after lunch.
“We were about to go into lunch break and basically everyone in the classroom heard the gunshots and almost everyone was screaming,” she said. “We all went into the office, closed the curtains, locked the doors, and basically did what we would do in a school shooting. And one of the teachers came in and we We all ran into the gym.”
Honea said Litton appeared to have committed suicide after the shooting. A handgun was found near the body, which was located near the school’s slides and other playground equipment.
Authorities believe the shooter was not related to the victims or the school. They are trying to determine his motive, but believe he may have targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Honea said investigators are working to reconstruct Litton’s actions before the shooting and are trying to contact Litton’s family before releasing his identity to the public.
Litton was accused of failing to return a rental car last month and was arrested by San Francisco police shortly thereafter. Police found him in possession of a fake driver’s license with the same name he used to book his school appointment.
He informed the school that he was interested in enrolling his grandson.
“It appears to us that this story was a ruse to get an appointment so he could get onto campus,” Honea said.
The sheriff showed footage of Litton walking around campus, reaching into his jacket before pulling out a weapon.
As a child, Lytton attended an Adventist school in the nearby community of Paradise. Officials obtained a statement believed to be from Mr. Litton, in which he stated that he was part of an international coalition and that the United States was “involved in the genocide and oppression of Palestinians following its attack on Yemen.” It claims that it has taken “countermeasures” in response to “.
But investigators working with the Department of Homeland Security believe the shooting was an isolated incident and highlights Litton’s history of mental health issues. Honea said the attackers may have also considered targeting a Seventh-day Adventist school in a nearby town.
Butte County has been plagued by several deadly wildfires in recent years, including the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, and the North Complex Fire. In 2022, a man opened fire on a Greyhound bus, killing a 43-year-old woman traveling with her two children and injuring four others, including a pregnant woman.
“We’re facing another big incident, another big tragedy here in Butte County,” Honea said. “This community has endured so much over the past three years. I can’t believe we’re back here again.”
