The two kindergarteners, who are close friends, were leaving their classroom together at Feather River Adventist School to go to the bathroom.
Vanessa Diaz, the sister of one of the victims, Roman Mendez, said that shortly after, they were shot multiple times and were seriously injured.
Roman and his friend were soon rushed to the hospital, one by ambulance and the other by helicopter, from the small campus near Oroville, Calif., with little time to spare.
“It's terrible,” said Diaz, who was visiting his 6-year-old brother, who was unconscious in the hospital. “It's just heartbreaking.”
The Butte County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that the boys' condition had improved to “critical but stable,” in an area about 90 miles north of Sacramento that has seen an unusual amount of heartbreak in recent years. It brought a glimmer of hope to society. Residents were already organizing fundraisers, holding vigils and trying to raise money to support the victims and their families, as they have done in the past in the farming community.
Six years ago, 85 residents here died in the Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise, about 20 miles away. And a year before the fire, Oroville residents had to throw their belongings into cars and flee town one night, fearing that the towering Oroville Dam was about to erupt.
In Wednesday's shooting, authorities believe the gunman, who later committed suicide, targeted the parochial school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant Christian sect.
The campus, with about 35 students, is a familiar landmark for residents, perched above a field along Highway 70, the main road south to Sacramento. We also host local basketball games and other community events.
The gunman had scheduled a meeting with the school's principal on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of enrolling the children there, but authorities said the meeting may have been a ruse to gain access to the premises. announced. The school is gated and has tight security.
Shortly after the meeting ended, the principal heard gunshots and screams, authorities said.
Diaz said Roman was struck by multiple bullets that penetrated his liver and spleen. He is being treated in the pediatric intensive care unit at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he has undergone multiple surgeries and has two more scheduled for Friday.
Diaz said Roman has a twin brother, and both of them started attending Feather River this fall. Diaz said their mother is an Adventist activist who lives in Oroville, and they chose that campus in part because of its strict security protocols.
She added that Roman loved Spider-Man and was the more outgoing of the twins.
“He's a bit of a daredevil,” she said. “He's always happy. He's a typical little boy, he has so much energy and you can never let him sit down.”
When authorities arrived at the campus Wednesday, they found the gunman already dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Butte County Sheriff Cory L. Honea said. The gunman was identified by authorities, but his name had not yet been released as of Thursday afternoon.
Authorities said they were not aware of any prior threats the shooter had made against Feather River School or other campuses associated with Seventh-day Adventists.
Seventh-day Adventists are also known for holding religious services on Saturdays instead of Sundays and have a long history there, operating several hospitals and schools in Northern California. The first Adventist church on the West Coast opened in Santa Rosa, California, in 1869, and the nation's oldest Adventist hospital was built in 1878 at St. Helena in Napa Valley.
The Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists announced Thursday that all schools are closed to “enable everyone to be with their families.”
“We are deeply saddened by the events that occurred today,” the group said in a statement. “Please join us in holding these children and their families in your prayers.”
Stephanie Reynolds Biver, who was born and raised in Oroville, had planned a vigil for Friday to support the boys' families, she said, just before the town's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
“Everyone wants to help in some way,” said Reynolds Biver, 56. “I just want to bring the whole community together and cheer up the babies and their families.”
Dale Orlando, whose daughter is a sixth-grader at Feather River College, said the tragedy has shaken up families on campus. My parents were looking forward to going to the school's Christmas play on Saturday. Instead, they were left to process the tragedy Thursday morning.
“We're all family. We all go to the same church,” he said. “We're just trying to bring our loved ones closer together right now.”
Kirsten Noyes and mandy feder sawyer contributed to this report.
