Suspect in Oroville school shooting sat in San Bernardino County jail weeks earlier but was released

Police stated he used a ghost gun however didn’t reveal how a convicted felon obtained the gun.

Authorities revealed that Litton allegedly dedicated a number of crimes earlier than he carried out the capturing and was in jail weeks prior.

Three weeks earlier than Glenn Litton shot and wounded two kindergarten college students at a Christian elementary college in Northern California, he appeared in a felony courtroom in San Bernardino County by way of a video stream.

The 56-year-old was arrested on a felony warrant stemming from a 2020 second-degree housebreaking cost out of Redlands.

Litton pleaded not responsible to the cost and was launched of his personal recognizance from a Rancho Cucamonga jail days earlier than Thanksgiving. A decide ordered him to seem again in court docket in early December, in keeping with the San Bernardino County district legal professional’s workplace.

However he missed his Dec. 4 court docket date and as a substitute appeared at Feather River Adventist Faculty close to Oroville, Calif. armed with a ghost gun. There, Litton shot 5-year-old Elias Wolford and 6-year-old Roman Mendez in the course of the center of the varsity day earlier than turning the gun on himself, authorities stated. Each youngsters stay in crucial however steady situation.

The capturing stays beneath investigation by each the FBI and Butte County authorities. However investigators stated they found writings from Litton, figuring out himself as “Lieutenant Glenn Litton” who sought to hold out “countermeasure in necessitated response” to U.S. involvement in “genocide and oppression of Palestinians together with assaults in direction of Yemen.”

Authorities haven’t revealed the place Litton obtained the handgun he used within the capturing. Typically known as a privately made firearm (PMF) or ghost gun, these weapons may be assembled by numerous means, together with gun kits bought on-line or with components made with a 3-D printer.

The Supreme Courtroom heard arguments in October on the federal company’s guidelines on the regulatory definition of a firearm, which beginning in 2022 consists of weapon components from kits and privately manufactured firearms.

Authorities say Luigi Mangione, the person accused of gunning down a UnitedHealthcare govt within the streets of Manhattan earlier this month, used a ghost gun with a silencer.

It’s unclear how Litton obtained his gun and that might show tough for authorities. Greater than 25,000 ghost weapons had been recovered within the U.S. by legislation enforcement in 2022 and the success charge for monitoring down the origins of weapons utilized in against the law is extremely low, in keeping with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“A ghost gun is one which successfully has no id,” stated Garen Wintemute, director of the California Firearm Violence Analysis Middle with UC Davis and an emergency room doctor. “It has no historical past, it will probably’t be traced, and by traditional methodology.”

Ghost weapons recovered by police in California spiked from 2013 to 2021, however these numbers have decreased lately, in keeping with the California Lawyer Normal’s workplace. Laws in California and on the federal degree are answerable for how particular person components of firearms are labeled and embody serial numbers, Wintemute stated. However there’ll all the time be the potential for a ghost gun showing in an investigation.

“Individuals will proceed to make firearms illegally with out serial numbers, and they’re going to use them in crime,” Wintemute stated.

Authorities described Litton as a person with a prolonged felony report who had bouts of psychological well being points. He was convicted of felony forgery in 2003 in Butte County.

In March, he labored at a CVS Pharmacy in Phoenix, Ariz., however on his second day on the job a supervisor reported Litton stole $1,166 from the money registers, in keeping with authorities.

Litton reappeared in Northern California on Nov. 12 when a detailing enterprise reported to the Chico Police Division that Litton rented a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with U-Haul stickers and by no means returned the car. A GPS system on the truck confirmed that the truck was in San Francisco.

The South San Francisco Police Division arrested Litton and the San Mateo district legal professional’s workplace charged him with felony embezzlement of a leased or rented car; being in possession of a cast driver’s license and different fees. He had a cast driver’s license with the identify “Michael Sanders” and was booked right into a San Mateo jail.

However on Nov. 20 he was extradited to San Bernardino County the place he was delivered to reply for the second-degree housebreaking cost out of Redlands, in keeping with court docket data. He was launched from custody on Nov. 21 shortly after 6 p.m., however there is no such thing as a details about the place he went after his court docket date.

Litton was noticed round Chico in early December, in keeping with authorities, and was reportedly staying at resorts within the space. He was additionally noticed understanding at native gyms, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea stated.

On Dec. 4, Litton was noticed at a Motel 6 in Chico, then caught a bus at 7:46 a.m. and arrived in Oroville at 8:30 a.m. with a big duffle bag. Shortly earlier than 11 a.m. he bought power drinks at a Raley’s Grocery store after which ordered an Uber beneath the identify “Mark Hansen” in keeping with the Butte County Sheriff’s Workplace.

He requested to be dropped off at Feather River Adventist Faculty the place he made an appointment to fulfill with employees for a tour. Litton used the identify “Michael Sanders” and claimed he was serious about enrolling a baby on the college, in keeping with authorities.

After the tour, Litton walked towards a toilet and that’s when employees heard gunshots and screaming.