Two kindergarten students who were shot at their Northern California school on Wednesday are in “critical but stable condition,” local authorities said Thursday, Dec. 5.
The victims, aged 5 and 6 years old, were said to be in “extremely critical condition” on Wednesday afternoon when Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea first updated the media about their status following the shooting at Feather River Adventist School in Oroville, Calif.
CBS News reported the Butte County Sheriff’s Office update Thursday.
The 6-year-old victim has been identified as Roman Mendez, according to local Action News Now, who spoke with Mendez’s family on Thursday.
According to Mendez’s sister, the boy has injuries to his chest and back.
Mendez’s sister told Action News Now that Roman’s twin brother is also a student at the school and witnessed the shooting firsthand.
“I am thankful that they are still alive but they have a long road ahead of them,” Honea, the sheriff, told reporters on Thursday at a news conference where police provided an update on the victims and their investigation into the school shooting.
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Police are still investigating what led a man to open fire at the school after authorities said he met with school administrators about enrolling his own child there.
Honea told reporters at a news conference Thursday that investigators believe the school was targeted because of its religious affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The sheriff said Wednesday that police received a 911 call around 1 p.m. and found the suspected shooter dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers arrived at the scene.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday afternoon that investigators “have positively identified the suspect,” though his identity has not yet been made public.
Michael Weber/The Chico Enterprise-Record via AP
Feather River Adventist School has 35 students, according to CBS. Oroville, Calif., where the school is located, is about 70 miles north of Sacramento.
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Oroville Mayor David Pittman said in a statement Thursday that the city’s “thoughts and prayers” are with the two young victims.
“The entire staff, students, and families have also been emotionally traumatized after this incident,” Pittman said. “Sadly, our schools must plan and train for these kinds of events and pray they never occur. Our schools must be safe places.”
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