US News: Two students injured, gunman dies in Northern California shooting incident

Two children were injured in a shooting at a small religious K-12 school in Northern California on Wednesday, and when sheriff’s officials arrived they found the gunman lying on the ground near a playground. , authorities said it appears he committed suicide with a gun.

Officials said the children, ages 5 and 6, were taken to a nearby hospital, but their condition was not immediately known. One person was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

The shooting happened just after 1 p.m. at Feather River School of Seventh-day Adventist in Palermo, a private school with fewer than 30 students. Palermo has a population of approximately 5,500 and is located approximately 104 km (65 miles) north of Sacramento.

This is the latest of dozens of school shootings across the country in recent years, including the deadliest mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Parkland, Florida. and Uvalde, Texas. The shooting sparked a heated debate about gun control and struck a nerve with parents whose children are accustomed to active shooter drills in classrooms.

However, school shootings have had little impact on gun control in the country. Firearms were the leading cause of death for children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit organization that researches medical issues.

“My heart breaks for everyone affected by this tragedy,” Congressman James Gallagher, whose district includes Palermo, said in a statement. “As a community, we honor our loved ones today. I will hug them and pray for their recovery.” They sacrifice themselves to try to make sense of something so meaningless. ”

Butte County Sheriff Cory L. Honea said he received information that the gunman was meeting with the principal about enrolling children, but the details of that meeting have not yet been confirmed by investigators. Said. Earlier, authorities said they believed the shooter had no ties to the school.

A motive was not immediately known. Honea said he is trying to contact the shooter’s family before releasing his name.

The gunman’s body covered in blue tarpaulin was found near the school’s slide and other playground equipment, and police officers stood nearby to secure the scene. The school is adjacent to a cattle ranch.

Honea said authorities first rushed the students to the gymnasium, where they stayed until buses arrived to take them off campus and head to Oroville Church of the Nazarene to be reunited with their families.

Sixth grade student Jocelyn Orlando explained what happened to CBS News Sacramento.

“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.”

Representatives from the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists could not be reached for comment.

The school opened in 1965, according to its website.