OROVILLE, Calif. -- California investigators shed new light on the shooting at a Northern California Christian school that has left two kindergarteners in the hospital in critical and stable condition, revealing that the deceased shooter had targeted the Feather River Adventist School.

Butte County, California, Sheriff Kory Honea identified the victims as Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolfard, 5. They were playing in the playground at the Oroville school when the suspect opened fire, the sheriff said.

Honea said Roman was shot twice and had internal injuries and Elias was shot once in the abdomen. They are still being treated for their gunshot wounds and will need several surgeries, according to the sheriff.

"They have a very long road ahead of them," he told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

Honea stressed that the investigation was ongoing but revealed the identity of the shooter, his decades of criminal history and some clues into his motive behind the incident.

Glenn Litton, 56, called the school, which is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, several days ago using an alias to set up an appointment with the principal, according to the sheriff. Litton claimed that he was looking to enroll a grandchild at the school. The shooter, who was homeless, has no grandchildren, according to Honea.

"It appears to us that story was a ruse so he could set up an appointment so he had access to the campus," he told reporters.

After the meeting ended, the shooter walked to the playground of the school, brandished a handgun and opened fire. The shooter took his own life, according to investigators.

Police were called and a California Highway Patrol trooper was the first to arrive on the scene, finding the two wounded students and the suspect's body. The boys were quickly rushed to hospitals.

The suspect had a long criminal history with arrests dating back to when he was a child, according to local investigators and the FBI, which is assisting in the investigation. The suspect spent several stints in state and federal prisons for various crimes including forgery, investigators said.

In the last year, the shooter had been charged with new counts in both California and Arizona. In March, he was accused of stealing cash from a CVS in Phoenix where he worked a few days, investigators said.

Last month, the shooter was released from a San Bernardino County jail after he was arrested for stealing a U-Haul. He pleaded not guilty, was released on his own recognizance and was picked up by a relative, the sheriff said.

Honea said that the shooter lived in motels in Chico and Sacramento in the two weeks before he took a bus and an Uber to the school.

The shooter attended a Seventh-day Adventist School in Paradise, California, many years ago and had a relative who attended the targeted school many years ago, investigators said. However, investigators said there is no current connection between the school and the suspect.

The shooter did look up another Seventh-day Adventist school in the area and had suspicious notes that mentioned the church, according to Honea.

Investigators said they uncovered writings by the shooter that made unverified claims the school was linked with matters concerning the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Honea said there is no indication that the shooter's claims are true.

"He had significant mental health issues and pulled information from various sources and it all pulled together to form a reality that is false," the sheriff said.

Investigators said that as a convicted felon, the shooter could not legally have a firearm and it appeared the weapon used in the shooting was a ghost gun. Investigators are still looking for clues and are in contact with the suspect's sister but noted that he did not have close relations with his family.

The school, which teaches kindergarten to 8th grade and has a total of 35 students, remains closed and counselors have been made available to the students and staff, according to Laurie Trujillo, a spokeswoman for the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Trujillo held back tears as she talked about the pain and trauma that the school and church community are enduring and asked for people of all faiths to send their prayers.

"We know the close-knit Feather Day community will be grieving for a long time," she said.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Friday in honor of the victims.