Gunman who shot 2 kindergartners at a California school wrote about attack targeting children
A gunman who critically wounded two kindergartners at a tiny religious school in Northern California was mentally ill and believed by targeting children he was carrying out “counter-measures” in response to America’s involvement in Middle East violence
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A gunman who critically wounded two kindergartners at a tiny religious school in Northern California was mentally ill and believed by targeting children he was carrying out “counter-measures” in response to America’s involvement in Middle East violence, a sheriff said Thursday.
Glenn Litton used a “ruse” of pretending to enroll a fictitious grandson to gain entry to the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville, Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said during a news conference.
Litton used a handgun to shoot two kindergarten boys, ages 5 and 6, who remained in critical condition Thursday, the sheriff said. Litton then used the weapon — a so-called ghost gun, which is difficult for investigators to trace — to kill himself just yards (meters) from the school's playground.
While Honea said Litton, 56, also had a lengthy criminal history — mostly theft and identity theft — authorities said they did not find any violent crimes on his record.
