Northern California gunman planned ‘child executions’ at Christian school, authorities say

Authorities in Butte County have identified the gunman who staged an attack Wednesday on a Christian elementary school that left two children wounded and ended with the attacker dead.

On Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Kory Honea identified the shooter as Glenn Litton, 56. He described Litton as a homeless, mentally ill man with a long criminal record who targeted the school due to its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene of the attack.

Authorities found a statement by Litton saying that “child executions” were imposed at the school in response to “America’s involvements in genocide and oppression of Palestinians” and attacks in Yemen.

Honea identified the two injured kindergartners as 5-year-old Elias Wolford, who was shot once in the abdomen, and 6-year-old Roman Mendez, who sustained two gunshot wounds resulting in internal injuries. Both boys remained in critical condition Thursday afternoon.

“They have a very long road ahead of them in terms of recovery,” Honea said. “It’s very likely that they are going to have to have a number of surgeries going forward, but the fact that they are currently still with us, I think, is a miracle.”

Elias’ family has started a GoFundMe to cover his medical expenses and his parents’ lost wages while they are at the hospital. The family said the bullet went through his chest and abdomen, piercing or nicking multiple organs before exiting. He underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and was on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit awaiting additional surgery, the family said.

Wednesday’s violence started with an appointment at Feather River Adventist School just outside Oroville, a town of around 20,000 about an hour’s drive north of Sacramento.

After being dropped off at the school in an Uber, Litton had a meeting with the principal to discuss enrolling his grandson in the school, which has fewer than 40 students. Honea said that this was a ruse to gain access to campus and that Litton has no grandson.

“It was a cordial meeting,” Honea said. “There was nothing that gave rise to concern.”

After the meeting, Litton walked toward the parking lot as if to leave, before turning and heading to the playground, where students were finishing their noon recess and returning to class, Honea said. Litton then pulled out his firearm and initiated the attack, he said.

A California Highway Patrol officer arrived on the campus at 1:10 p.m. and was directed by school staff to an area where the gunman had shot himself, Honea said.

Deputies arrived minutes later and found two boys in “extremely critical condition” and rendered aid, according to the sheriff.

About 35 students at the school were taken to the nearby Oroville Church of the Nazarene, where they were reunited with their parents. Crisis counselors from the Butte County Behavioral Health Department, chaplains and representatives from the Seventh-day Adventist Church were helping to address the immediate needs of students and faculty at the school, Honea said.

On Thursday, Honea said that Litton had a four-decade criminal history that included convictions across California, Nevada and Arizona for theft, fraud, identity theft and forgery.

In March, Litton was arrested in Phoenix on suspicion of stealing more than $1,000 from a cash register at a CVS. On Nov. 12, he was arrested by San Francisco police on suspicion of being in possession of a stolen U-Haul truck and a forged license as well as having an outstanding warrant in San Bernardino County for alleged burglary.

The forged license had the name Michael Sanders, which is the same name Litton used when scheduling his appointment at Feather River Adventist School.

Litton attended an Seventh-day Adventist school in Paradise, Calif., as a child and might have had a family member who attended the Feather River school years ago, Honea said. Law enforcement, however, does not believe there is any current connection between Litton and the school he attacked, Honea added.

In the statement recovered by law enforcement, Litton said he was attacking the school on behalf of the “International Alliance.” Law enforcement has not found any evidence pointing to the existence of such an organization, Honea said.

“We believe that this was an isolated incident and he was a sole individual who targeted this school based on the beliefs that he held,” said Honea.

The school was closed Thursday as law enforcement continued to investigate the scene. The Sheriff’s Office was in contact with school administrators and the Butte County Office of Education to determine a plan to reopen the school.

“We are experiencing great pain within our school family, within our staff members, and throughout our entire community here in the Northern California conference,” said Laurie Trujillo, director of communications and advancement at the Northern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.

“We are absolutely devastated by this senseless act of violence,” she said in a statement Thursday. “Today, all Adventist schools in our conference were closed to enable families to be together.”

Steven Brownell, a pastor with the Seventh-day Adventist Church who visits the school once or twice a week, told KCRA-TV on Wednesday that he was trying to support the community in the aftermath of the attack.

“My reaction was just sorrow — that the kids anywhere have to experience anything like this in their lifetime. And then not only them, but the teachers and the parents as well,” Brownell said. “To have to go through something like this is just unconscionable.”

Assemblymember James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) issued a statement saying his heart was breaking for all of those affected by the tragedy.

“We will never understand why or how someone could do a thing like this. I am grateful for the bravery of the law enforcement, fire and medical personnel who responded to this attack to stop the shooter and rescue the victims,” he said. “As a community, we’ll all be hugging our loved ones closer today as we pray for the victims and try to make sense of something so senseless.”