The California gunman who shot and gravely injured two kindergartners had a long criminal history and significant mental health issues, authorities said Thursday.
Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolford, 5, were identified by Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea as the two children injured in the Wednesday shooting at the Feather River Adventist School in Oroville, which has an enrollment of 35 students.
Mendez was shot twice and Wolford sustained one gunshot wound in the abdomen and will likely need several surgeries, the sheriff said.
“”They have a long road ahead of them,” Honea said.
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Authorities identified the shooter as Glenn Litton, 56, who died most likely from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Litton used the alias Michael Sanders to set up an appointment with the school principal to inquire about enrolling his grandson just before the shooting, investigators said.
Authorities believe the appointment was a ruse so Litton could gain access to the school’s campus. After the meeting, Litton fired a handgun several times before fatally shooting himself, Honea said.
“Shortly after concluding that meeting, the principal heard shots being fired, heard screams, and that’s when they determined or found that the two students had been shot,” Honea said.
Litton had no connection with the school, but attended a school in nearby Paradise run by the same church when he was a child.
After the shooting, investigators found disturbing writings believed to be from Litton that provided insight into a possible motive.
One said: “Countermeasure involving child executions has now been imposed at the Seventh Day Adventist school in California, United States by The International Alliance. I, Lieutenant Glenn Litton of the Alliance carried out countermeasure in necessitated response to America’s involvement with Genocide and Oppression of Palestinians along with attacks towards Yemen.”
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Honea described Litton as homeless and said he had some mental health issues going back to age 16. He went on to express that he believes the writings resulted from the issues, saying he “pulled information from various sources, and it all came together in his mind to create a reality that is false.”
Litton had a lengthy criminal history consisting of identity theft, fraud and forgery. He served time in California State Prison in the 1990s and early 2000s for theft-related crimes. In 2015, he was sentenced to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft in Sacramento.
Litton’s first prison sentence was in 1991 for theft. Since then, he has had convictions for various crimes consisting of theft, identity theft, and some drug charges, according to Butte County officials.
“His criminal behavior and prison stints continued over the following years, all the way up until Nov. 12 when he was arrested near San Francisco for stealing a moving truck and was booked into the San Mateo County jail,” officials said.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on November 21, after which he made his way to the Oroville area to carry out the shooting on December 4.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In addition to local law enforcement, the FBI is involved in the investigation.
In response to the tragedy, Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother to Dylan Hockley, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said that this attack is shocking and senseless.
“An attack such as this goes against everything we stand for as a nation. No one should ever experience shootings in the places where children should be safest. Every single one of us – especially children so young – has a right to be free from gun violence. This abhorrent act deserves no place in our society.”
Feather River Adventist School made a statement on their website thanking the officers involved.
“We are grateful for the brave officers of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol who acted quickly to protect our students. We will continue to work closely with Sheriff Kory Honea and his team during this investigation,” the statement read.
Butte County Officials are asking that the family are given privacy at this time explaining that they are focusing on the recovery of their children.
“Please recognize that the most important thing for them is to make sure that their children are being taken care of. And so I would ask on their behalf, based on what they told me, is that you respect their privacy and do not make an effort to to contact the parents,” said officials.
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