Shooting at California school leaves two students injured, gunman dead

On Wednesday afternoon at about 1pm, the shooting occurred at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, a private school in Palermo. The school had less than three dozen students. Palermo, which is about 65 miles (104 km) north of Sacramento, has close to 5,500 people.

Emergency personnel state outside the Feather River Adventist School after a shooting Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Oroville, Calif. (Michael Weber/The Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)

The shooting in the K-8 school in Palermo is the latest among the series of school shootouts that have taken place in the United States this year, including some fatal ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas.

“My heart is breaking for everyone impacted by this tragedy. As a community, we’ll all be hugging our loved ones closer today as we pray for the victims and try to make sense of something so senseless,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher, whose area includes Palermo in a statement, reported Associated Press.

Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea told reporters that the shooter appeared to have no relations with the school and the motive for the shooting remains to be known, as the investigators try to identify the deceased accused.

Sheriff Honea added that 911 calls reported “an individual on campus who had fired shots at students.” When the officials reached the school campus, the accused was seen lying on the ground, apparently dead from the self-inflicting injuries.