Chilling excuse California gunman gave to enter school and shoot two kindergarteners

The gunman who shot two kindergarten students in California was revealed to have lied about enrolling a student to gain access and open fire on the children of a Christian school.  

On Wednesday, a man who is yet to be named opened fire at K-8 Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists and left two young boys, 5 and 6 years old, in critical condition. 

Authorities believe the shooter may have falsified a meeting about enrolling a student into the school to gain access to the grounds. Deputies, however, don't believe a child was with him.

The suspected shooter had arrived in an Uber and met with the school's administrator, who described their meeting as 'cordial', according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea in a press statement on Wednesday.

'After the meeting with the administrator on Wednesday, gunshots were heard,' Honea said. 

California Highway Patrol Officers received 911 calls from the school at around 1pm, according to Sheriff Honea, and arrived on the scene to find the suspected shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  

The suspected shooter was found near playground equipment on the school grounds along with a handgun. 

'Whether or not this is a hate crime or whether or not it's part of some sort of larger scheme, at this point I don't have enough information to provide an answer to that,' he said.

Honea added that after receiving additional information, they are led to believe 'the subject responsible for the shooting targeted this school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventists church.'  

Sid Patel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said: 'No father no mother should have to endure what happened today' 

He added that they are 'still very early in the investigation' but believe, with additional help from the FBI, they have identified the suspect and were in the process of conducting interviews with possible associates. 

Officers on the scene gave medical aid to the two young boys who were then transported to a Sacramento-area hospital where they are in 'extremely critical condition', according to Sheriff Honea. 

'I'm thankful that they are still alive, but they have a long road ahead of them,' the sheriff said.

A sixth-grade student, Jocelyn Orlando, told CBS News that during the terrifying ordeal, she helped her teacher comfort younger students as the gunman was outside the classroom. 

'I was thinking to myself, what if I get shot, what will happen to my family and me,' she told the outlet. 

Orlando said she tried to comfort the kindergarten students by telling them to 'take deep breaths and think of something happy.' 

'I told the little graders to close their eyes and cover their ears because he was pacing back and forth from the window... we all don't know what's gonna happen next.'

'I don't really know...It was really, really sad,' she added. 

The school serves about 35 students from kindergarten to eighth grade, and remaining students on campus were secured inside the school's gymnasium. 

They were then loaded onto a school bus and taken to Oroville Church of the Nazarene, where they were reunited with parents and family members. 

Dale Orlando, Jocelyn's father, told the outlet: 'I tried to get here as quick as I could, as safely as I could, while panicking on the inside.' 

'We're not the only city, school, family, that this happens to, and this is not how life should be,' he added. 

In a statement on X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote: 'Heartbreaking. Once again, a community is shattered by senseless gun violence. Our hearts are with the children, their families, and everyone impacted by this horrific tragedy. To the survivors of gun violence: You are never alone. California stands with you.'

Honea added that while they believe the shooting to be an 'isolated incident,' a cautionary alert was sent to law enforcement throughout California state.