The man who shot two kindergarteners at a Christian school in Northern California had a history of mental illness and pretended to be interested in enrolling a family member at the school to attend campus, the Butte County sheriff said Thursday .
Glenn Litton, 56, killed himself after shooting the two boys, ages 5 and 6, at Feather River Adventist School near Palermo on Wednesday around 1 p.m., officials said.
They remained in critical condition Thursday. The 6-year-old had two gunshot wounds and the 5-year-old had a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Sheriff Kory Honea said at a news conference Thursday.
Doctors say it is likely they will need more surgeries, he said. “They have a very long road ahead of them in terms of recovery,” Honea said.
Investigators found a written statement in which Litton claimed to be a lieutenant in the “international alliance” and mentioned a response to “America’s involvement in genocide and oppression of Palestinians, along with attacks on Yemen,” Honea said.
Researchers were unable to find such a group, he said.
“This person had some serious mental health issues,” Honea said. “It appears he took information from several sources, and it all came together in his mind to form a reality that may be false or different from ours.”
Officials did not have information Thursday about specific mental health diagnoses for Litton, but Honea said he had a “pretty clear history of mental health issues.”
“That’s not in any way to suggest that people with mental health issues are violent, or all violent, because I don’t want to increase the stigma, but I think that’s part of the problem,” he said.
Probation reports from 2015 and 2022 noted that Litton had serious mental health issues starting at age 16, Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said at the news conference.
Litton had served prison time for identity theft and other theft, and according to Honea and other officials, he was described as essentially homeless, splitting his time between Sacramento and the Chico area.
Police are investigating the shooting at Feather River Adventist School near Palermo, California on Wednesday.
Litton is believed to have attacked the school of about 35 students because of his ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Honea said.
He may have been looking for another school to attend, but ultimately he chose Feather River school. Investigators discovered he had also investigated an Adventist school in Red Bluff, northwest of Chico, Honea said.
Litton had attended a Seventh-day Adventist school in the community of Paradise, also in Butte County, as a child. He may also have had a relative who attended the school he attacked many years ago, but Litton currently had no involvement or connection with that school, Honea said.
He used a fake ID to make an appointment at the school a few days before the attack, under the guise that he wanted to enroll a grandson there, Honea said.
That was a ploy for Litton, who has no grandson, to come to campus, Honea said. After what was described as a cordial conversation with the school’s principal, Litton left, then turned toward a playground and opened fire, Honea said.
The school called 911 to report an active shooter at 1:08 p.m. By the time a California Highway Patrol officer arrived at the school, Litton was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Honea said.
A vigil will be held Friday in nearby Oroville during a downtown tree lighting event.
Laurie Trujillo, communications director for the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said the school and conference community are shocked. All schools were closed on Thursday.
“We are absolutely devastated by this senseless act of violence,” she said. “Our church members here in the Northern California Conference continue to pray for all those affected by this tragedy.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live on 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for extra support.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
