Suspect dead after shooting at Northern California school; 2 students hurt, sheriff’s office says

PALERMO – Authorities say a suspect is dead and two students are hurt after a shooting at a school in the Northern California community of Palermo on Wednesday.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened around 1 p.m. at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists.

One person was found by deputies with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, with the sheriff’s office confirming that the suspected shooter had died. Two students were also found shot; their conditions were not known at this time, the sheriff’s office says, but both have been taken to local hospitals. 

The suspect has not been identified at this time. It’s also unclear if the shooting was random, the sheriff’s office says, but it doesn’t appear that the suspect had a connection to the campus.  

Parents are being told to meet their children at the Oroville Church of the Nazarene at 2238 Monte Vista Avenue. 

Due to the investigation, California Highway Patrol is diverting northbound traffic on Highway 70 at E. Gridley Road west to Highway 99. Southbound Highway 70 is also closed at Power House Hill Road, with traffic being diverted to Lone Tree Road. 

The school serves about 35 students from kindergarten to eighth grade. 

Palermo is a town about 25 miles north of Marysville and 65 miles north of Sacramento.