The two kindergartners, close friends, had left their classroom together at the Feather River Adventist School for a simple trip to the restroom.

A short time later, they were shot multiple times and badly wounded, said Vanessa Diaz, a sister of one of the victims, Roman Mendez.

Roman and his friend were soon whisked away from the small campus near Oroville, Calif., one by ambulance, the other by helicopter, and both rushing to hospitals with no time to spare.

“It’s horrible,” said Ms. Diaz, who has been visiting her 6-year-old brother in the hospital where he remains unconscious. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

On Thursday, the boys improved to “critical but stable” condition, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced, offering a glimmer of hope to this community about 60 miles north of Sacramento that has witnessed an unusual amount of heartache in recent years. Residents were already trying to organize fund-raisers, hold vigils and pull together money to support the victims and their families, just as they had done in the past in this agricultural region.

Six years ago, residents here suffered through the Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise about 20 miles up the road. And a year before the blaze, everyone in Oroville had to toss their belongings into a vehicle and scramble out of town one night, fearing that the towering Oroville Dam would erupt at any minute.

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