A note detailing the gunman’s motive was found Thursday, the sheriff said. The memo said he sought to carry out “child executions” as a “response to America’s complicity in the genocide and oppression of Palestinians along with attacks on Yemen.”
Authorities said the gunman had a long history of mental health and a criminal history that included theft, fraud and forgery charges over the years.
The shooting happened shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) at the Feather River Seventh-day Adventist School.
Butte County Sheriff Cory Honea said the gunman, 56-year-old Glenn Litton, had scheduled a meeting with a school administrator to discuss enrolling the student — a ruse that cops say was infiltrating the school.
The meeting was seemingly cordial and Litton went on a tour, Sheriff Honea said, but things changed when the gunman headed for the bathroom and began opening fire. The shooting fell on the students near the classroom, as a result of which two kindergarten children were injured.
The attacker then turned the gun on himself, police said. He was found dead by emergency responders with a firearm next to his body.
The remaining 35 school children were later transferred to the church, where they were reunited with their families.
Sheriff Honea said Wednesday that the young victims suffered “very, very serious” injuries.
“I’m thankful they’re still alive, but they have a long way to go.”
Sheriff Honea previously said that investigators “have received some information that leads us to believe that the subject responsible for the shooting was targeted at this school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
He previously noted that authorities believed the shooting was an isolated incident, but a statewide alert was sent to other schools affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church out of an abundance of caution.
The church is a Protestant Christian denomination with more than 21 million members worldwide. According to the North American Chapter of Seventh-day Adventists, there are one million believers in North America.
