Two children injured and suspect dead in shooting at Northern California school: police

Two children were wounded on Wednesday and the suspected shooter died during a shooting at a Northern California elementary school, according to local law enforcement.

The Butte County sheriff's office said the incident took place at approximately 1 p.m. local time, at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, California. The school is a small private K-8 facility, with under three dozen students.

The two children, both boys who are five and six, have been transported to a nearby hospital, NBC News reported. The names of the children have not been released.

The suspect, an adult male, allegedly committed suicide after opening fire. The man's motive for the shooting is not clear, and officials said they were waiting to reach the suspect's family before releasing more information, per the Associated Press. 

“We are very, very early on in this investigation. There is still a lot of unknown questions, and answers that we are trying to obtain,” Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters. “When we arrived, we located an individual, an adult male. He was down, appears to have sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Honea later said the attack may have occurred after the man met with the principal about enrolling a child in the school. The sheriff said they also received information that the attack could be affiliated with the school's religion.

"We’re working to delve into this individual’s background to figure out what prompted him to do this," Honea said. "We have received some information that he may have targeted this school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.