The authorities said that Mr. Litton had suffered from mental health issues for decades. Based on writings they uncovered after the shooting, investigators said that he believed that he was an officer in a paramilitary organization tasked with performing child executions.
…
… Mr. Litton had a criminal history that dated back to his teenage years and included convictions for identity theft, forgery and petty theft, the authorities said. He had been incarcerated several times, though the authorities noted that none of his previous crimes were violent.
It’s not clear what Litton’s incarcerations accomplished. It’s not out of the question that his time inside caused or exacerbated his condition, leading to this shooting.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/159095
Here’s the archive link: http://archive.today/2024.12.06-125212/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/us/school-shooting-california-kindergarteners.html
Two boys were rushed to hospitals on Wednesday after they were shot by a gunman on their rural school campus in Northern California. The authorities say the suspect had a history of crimes and mental illness.
A wooden sign in front of a school campus reads “Feather River School, Seventh-day Adventists.” The authorities believe the gunman may have targeted Feather River Adventist School because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventists.Credit…Andri Tambunan for The New York Times
Published Dec. 5, 2024Updated Dec. 6, 2024, 12:25 a.m. ET
The two kindergartners were on their way to the restroom during lunchtime on Wednesday, in what was supposed to be a simple trip before heading back to class at the Feather River Adventist School.
Instead, a short time later, they were shot and badly wounded by a gunman.
The boys, Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolford, 5, were soon whisked away from their small campus near Oroville, Calif., one by ambulance, the other by helicopter, and both rushing to hospitals with no time to spare.
“It’s horrible,” said Vanessa Diaz, who has been visiting her brother Roman in the intensive care unit where he remains unconscious. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
On Thursday, the boys had improved to “critical but stable” condition, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced, offering a glimmer of hope to this rural community about 60 miles north of Sacramento that has endured an unusual amount of heartache in recent years. Residents were already trying to organize fund-raisers, hold vigils and pull together money to support the victims and their families, just as they had done in the past in this agricultural region.
Six years ago, residents here suffered through the Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise about 20 miles up the road. And a year before the blaze, everyone in Oroville had to toss their belongings into a vehicle and scramble out of town one night, fearing that the towering Oroville Dam would erupt at any minute.
In Wednesday’s shooting, the authorities believe the gunman, identified as Glenn Litton, 56, had targeted the parochial school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant Christian denomination. He later killed himself.
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