Kindergartners Are ‘Critical but Stable’ After California School Shooting

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.

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.