OROVILLE – The Butte County community is coming together to raise money for the families of two toddlers who injured in a school shooting last week.
A chili fundraiser was planned for Monday evening at the Southside Oroville Community Center on Lower Wyandotte Road.
The Butte County community is no stranger to tragedy, but this one is different.
“A man-made malicious attack like this is something that I thought was very important for us to stand up and respond, just as we have responded to the natural disasters in the past,” said City Council Member Shawn Weber of Oroville.
Weber is co-hosting the fundraiser with community members such as the Rev. Kevin Thompson, the community center’s director.
“Even in something as tragic as this, everything is perfect for God’s purpose,” Thompson said.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Roman Mendez, 6, who suffered two gunshot wounds, and Elias Wolford, 5, who was shot in the stomach, are both now in stable condition at the hospital.
“The violence hit us in a split second,” Sheriff Honea said. “They are just as quick to offer love and support.”
Butte County Sheriff’s Office
Donations for the fundraiser started pouring in Monday afternoon Orovilleincluding Kimberlee Wheeler who brought chili toppings and cupcakes. She is a local children’s librarian.
“Even though I didn’t know them personally, I feel like I do and I just want to make sure they feel the love too,” Wheeler said.
Investigators said 56-year-old Glenn Linton entered the Feather River Adventist School campus last Wednesday, started shooting and then turned the gun on himself.
“It seems to me that the person responsible for this really intended to strike fear in the hearts of the parents, and in that regard I think that is the essence of a terrorist attack,” said Sheriff Kory Honea.
Honea said Linton had met with school administrators minutes before he committed the violence about the effort to enroll his nonexistent grandson.
“There wasn’t a 100% guarantee of safety before this and there won’t be a 100% guarantee of safety after this because that’s the world we live in,” Sheriff Honea said.
The sheriff said he is already speaking with other Seventh-day Adventist schools in the area about what processes and safety procedures need to change on all school campuses. He plans to meet with all Butte County school leaders next week to discuss how they can balance openness to the community while keeping them safe.
At this time, Sheriff Honea said investigators have not uncovered any credible facts that anyone knew about this plan in advance or that this attack was connected to the agenda of a larger group, as investigators said the shooter suggested. They also still don’t know how the convicted felon got the gun.
“Not only were those boys injured, but their classmates were injured, and the community was injured,” Weber said.
Loved ones told CBS13 that loved ones said the boys are both in stable condition, but their childhood is forever shattered.
“I am inspired by the way our community comes together in times of need,” said Wheeler.
“It’s a miracle he survived. A little five-year-old boy gets shot with a nine millimeter and survived,” said Tawnee Preisner, Elias’ aunt. “It’s a miracle.”
CBS News spoke with Preisner after the tragedy.
I spoke to her on the phone Monday and she said one of the first questions Roman asked when he woke up from his surgeries was if Elias was okay.
“Isn’t that a testament to the human spirit of who we are at our core and what we should be? We need to take a lesson from that little boy,” Weber said.
Elias and Roman are survivors of an unthinkable attack from which this resilient Butte County community hopes to heal.
