2 students wounded, gunman dead after shooting at Northern California school

LOS ANGELES -- Two kindergarten students were seriously wounded and the suspected gunman is dead after shooting at a school in Northern California on Wednesday, authorities said.

The shooting took place around 1 pm local time (2100 GMT) at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, said the Butte County Sheriff's Office, adding multiple agencies had immediately responded to the incident.

An officer from California Highway Patrol was first on the scene and located the shooter, a man who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a news conference Wednesday evening, adding that a handgun was found next to the suspect.

Police officers found kindergarten students wounded at the scene and they were transported to a local hospital.

Honea said two boys ages 5 and 6 were in "extremely critical condition" at a local hospital and "the injuries are very, very serious."

Students were being taken to a nearby church after the shooting and parents were asked to respond to the church to be reunified with their children.

Honea said that the suspect was at the school to meet with the principal before the shooting to inquire about enrolling a family member.

Honea pointed out that the shooting is believed to be an isolated incident and the investigation is still in its early stages.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation Sacramento Field Office said in a post on X that it "stands with the Butte County Sheriff's Office and Feather River Adventist School families and employees and are providing support to aid our partners and the community during this challenging time."

The K-8 school, operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has a total of 35 students, officials said.

Palermo, home to over 5,000 residents, is about 104 km north of Sacramento, the capital of the US state of California.