A young boy seriously injured in a Northern California school shooting had a heartbreaking message for his father when he woke up after surgery.
Elias Wolford, 5, is recovering from injuries he suffered when a crazed gunman shot him on the playground of Feather River Adventist School in Palermo on Wednesday.
The bullet passed through his chest and abdomen, puncturing several organs and family members said in an online fundraiser.
Wolford had to be transported to a hospital due to the extent of his injuries and underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding upon arrival.
The toddler remained mostly asleep after the surgery because he was heavily sedated, but woke up at one point to “communicate with his father,” Wolford’s aunt, Tawnee Preisner. told KCRA.
“He made a gesture like a gun and tried to tap his father’s arm, as if saying, ‘I’ve been shot,'” she said.
“It’s really terrible for children to have to go through this,” the concerned aunt continued. “There’s so much emotional trauma.
“Actually, this ruined my cousin’s childhood. You can’t just shoot a kid and just move on.”
Elias Wolford, five, is recovering from his injuries. He was shot Wednesday on the playground of Feather River Adventist School in Palermo
Police say a gunman opened fire at the small Christian school as children returned to class after recess on Wednesday
“What this shooter did was he stole his normal childhood,” Preisner added. ‘And also for all the other children at school. For example, they went to a private school and felt like this was their safe zone.”
Preisner also said the timing of the shooting — which also seriously injured Wolford’s friend, 6-year-old Roman Mendez — couldn’t have been worse.
“For this to happen right before Christmas is absolutely devastating,” she said. “You know, all the kids are so excited about Christmas. What Christmas he normally could have had was just taken away from him.”
Police say the gunman, 56-year-old Glenn Litton, targeted the private Christian school, with fewer than three dozen students, in response to U.S. actions against Palestinians. Action News Now reports.
He arrived at the school just before noon on Wednesday under the ruse that he wanted to register a child at the school, officials alleged.
Litton even met with the school’s principal, who told investigators it was a “cordial” visit, with no signs of hostility, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
But as Litton left campus and headed to the parking lot, he suddenly changed directions and started walking toward the playground, where the kids were returning to class after recess.
Litton was then caught on surveillance camera reaching under his jacket, into his waistband, where he had hidden a gun and opened fire shortly after 1 p.m.
Police identified the suspect as 56-year-old Glenn Litton, who committed suicide after shooting Wolford and another toddler, Roman Mendez.
A subsequent investigation found that he carried out the attack in response to US actions against the Palestinians
Wolford was shot once and Mendez was shot twice before Litton committed suicide.
His body was found near the slide and other playground equipment on the school’s property, which borders ranchland where cattle graze.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Litton had also scheduled an appointment Thursday to visit another Seventh-day Adventist school in Red Bluff, which police said was his backup target.
Litton himself had attended a Seventh-day Adventist school in Paradise, California, as a child, Honea said.
But he apparently attacked the school out of outrage at US support for Israel, at one point writing: ‘Countermeasures involving child executions have now been imposed by the International Alliance at the Seventh-day Adventist School in California, United States.
‘Lt. The Alliance’s Glenn Litton implemented countermeasures as a necessary response to U.S. involvement in the genocide and oppression of the Palestinians, along with the attack on Yemen.”
Both Walford and Mendez were left in critical condition after the shooting
Honea said he found no evidence of an organization called the International Alliance, noting that Litton suffered from mental health issues and had previously served time in prison for identity theft and theft.
He was also recently homeless and living in hotels.
Still, the FBI wants to learn more about Litton’s beliefs and ideology from those who knew him.
In the meantime, Wolford’s parents have resigned because “everything is just focused on their son right now,” Preisner said.
“He is in critical condition,” she noted. “I mean, a 9mm shot for a little kid is, it’s a miracle he’s still alive, and it’s a miracle.”
She then asked for prayers for her nephew and “all the children involved,” and asked people to donate to the online fundraiser for Wolford’s medical costs.