2 children in critical condition after gunman opens fire at California school

Two children were in “extremely critical condition” Wednesday, Dec. 4, after being shot at a religious K-8 school in Northern California and the gunman d!£d at the scene, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot, police said. 

The gunman may have targeted the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo because of its religious affiliation, but isn’t believed to have had a prior connection to the victims or the school, Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said. He didn’t explain further. 

“Whether or not this is a hate crime or whether or not it’s part of some sort of larger scheme at this point I don’t have enough information to provide an answer to that,” he said. 

The wounded children, boys ages 5 and 6, are kindergarteners at the school and are being treated at a trauma center in the Sacramento area, officials said. 

“I am thankful that they’re still alive, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them,” Honea said. 

The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at the private Christian school with fewer than three dozen students in Palermo, which has about 5,500 people and is about 65 miles (104 kilometers) north of Sacramento.