California Christian school shooting
Law enforcement and first responders arrived at Feather River Adventist School in Oroville, where a suspected gunman shot two students Wednesday. (Credit: Fallon Ortiz / TMX)
The California gunman who shot and critically wounded two preschoolers had a long criminal history and mental health issues, authorities said Thursday.
Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolford, 5, were identified by Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea as the two children injured in Wednesday’s incident at Feather River Adventist School in Oroville, which has an enrollment of 35 students.
Mendez was shot twice and Wolford suffered a single gunshot wound to the abdomen and may need multiple surgeries, the official said.
“They have a long road ahead of them,” Honea said.
Glenn Litton had a long history of run-ins with the law and severe mental health issues, authorities said. (Butte County Police Department)
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Authorities identified the shooter as Glenn Litton, 56, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Litton used the name Michael Sanders to schedule an appointment with the principal to inquire about enrolling his grandson shortly before the shooting, investigators said.
Authorities believe the appointment was a ploy to allow Litton to gain access to school grounds. After the meeting, Litton fired the gun several times before fatally shooting himself, Honea said.
“Just after the meeting ended, the principal heard gunshots, heard crying, and that’s when he found out that two students had been shot,” said Honea.
Feather River Adventist School, where two students were shot Wednesday. (Google Maps)
Litton was not affiliated with the school, but attended a school in nearby Paradise run by the same church when he was younger.
After the shooting, investigators found disturbing texts believed to be from Litton that provided insight into a possible motive.
LR: Roman Mendez and Elias Wolford are in critical condition, police said. (Butte County Sheriff’s Office)
Another said: “The method of fighting that involves the killing of children has now been imposed by the International Alliance in the Seventh Day Adventist school in the United States.” The Palestinians and the attack on Yemen. “
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The video shows Glenn Litton outside the school on December 4th. (AP)
Honea described Litton as homeless and said he had mental health issues dating back to age 16. He went on to say that he believed that the documents were caused by these problems, saying that “he extracted information from different sources, and everything came together in his mind. the mind to create a false reality.”
Litton had a long criminal history that included identity theft, fraud and forgery. He served time in California State Prison in the 1990s and early 2000s for theft-related charges. In 2015, he was sentenced to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft in Sacramento.
Litton’s first prison sentence was in 1991 for theft. Since then, he has been arrested on various charges including theft, identity theft and other drug charges, according to Butte County officials.
“His criminal behavior and arrests continued over the next several years, until November 12 when he was arrested near San Francisco for stealing a pickup truck and booked into the San Mateo County Jail,” officials said.
Video footage shows Glenn Litton outside the school on December 4. (AP)
He denied the charges until he was released on November 21, after which he headed to the Oroville area to carry out the incident on December 4.
Fox News Digital reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In addition to local law enforcement, the FBI is involved in the investigation.
In response to the tragedy, Nicole Hockley, founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan Hockley, who was killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said the attack was shocking and senseless.
“Attacks like this go against everything we stand for as a nation. No one should be shot in places where children are supposed to be safe. Every single one of us – especially very young children – has the right to be free from guns. This despicable act has no place in our society.
Feather River Adventist School made a statement on its website thanking the officials involved.
“We are grateful to the brave officers of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol who acted quickly to protect our students. We will continue to work closely with Sheriff Kory Honea and his team throughout this investigation,” the statement read.
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Butte County officials are asking that the family be kept confidential at this time, saying they are focused on their children’s recovery.
“Please note that the most important thing for them is to ensure that their children are taken care of. Therefore, I will ask them, based on what they told me, to respect their privacy and not make any efforts to contact the parents,” the officials said.
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