PALERMO – One of two toddlers injured in a Northern California school shooting in early December may lose the use of his legs, the family told CBS Sacramento on Thursday.
The family said Elias Wolford, 5, suffered spinal cord damage. Wolford’s aunt Tawnee Preisner said doctors told her Wolford could move his legs when he was first admitted to the hospital, but that movement was lost after his first surgery and has not yet returned.
“He has no movement anymore. We’re hoping it comes back and it was just swelling. We knew there was some spinal damage but we were all hoping but at the moment it doesn’t look like he’s getting it back.” .” while the swelling goes down,” Preisner said.
Wolford and Roman Mendez, 6, were both shot at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Butte County on December 4, 2024.
Butte County Sheriff’s Office
Wolford was shot in the stomach while Mendez suffered two gunshot wounds that resulted in internal injuries. Both young victims were hospitalized in critical condition, but were considered stable five days after the shooting.
The suspect was identified as 56-year-old Glenn Litton. A California Highway Patrol officer found Litton later that day with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a gun next to him. Shortly afterwards he was pronounced dead.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Litton appeared to have a lengthy criminal history and attended another Adventist school as a child in the nearby town of Paradise.
