BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Jesse Kitagawa, a convicted felon, was arrested in Arizona for illegally selling the firearm used in the December 2024 school shooting in Oroville, the Butte County Sheriff announced.

On December 4, 2024, a school shooting occurred at the Seventh Day Adventist School on Cox Lane in Oroville, California, where 56-year-old Glenn Litton critically wounded two kindergarten students and then took his own life. Litton, a convicted felon with a significant criminal history, was illegally in possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting, the sheriff's office said.

The weapon, a Glock 19 "ghost gun," was later traced to a series of illegal transactions involving multiple individuals across states.

Following an investigation led by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, detectives discovered that the "ghost gun" had originally been purchased by 77-year-old Steven Lyons from a widow in Buckeye, Arizona, in April 2024.

However, Lyons later sold the firearm to 45-year-old convicted felon Jesse Kitagawa Jr. in violation of Arizona state law, the sheriff said. Kitagawa, who was unable to legally purchase a firearm due to his criminal history, then sold the gun to Litton in a separate illegal transaction, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives determined that Litton, after receiving the firearm from Kitagawa in April 2024, practiced with it at a gun range in Phoenix, Arizona, and purchased ammunition consistent with the rounds used in the shooting. Litton returned to California in April 2024, and by December, he used the gun to attack the school.

In early January 2025, BCSO detectives traveled to Arizona to conduct further investigation and, with the cooperation of the Phoenix Police Department, served a search warrant at Kitagawa’s residence. Evidence confirmed that Kitagawa had indeed sold the firearm to Litton at a motel in Chandler, Arizona, for $300. Kitagawa, now facing charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was arrested by Phoenix Police Department detectives on January 9, 2025.

Kitagawa appeared in court on January 10, 2025, where a local judge found probable cause for his arrest and set a bond. The Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office is expected to file charges against Kitagawa, with his next court date yet to be scheduled.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea expressed gratitude for the collaborative efforts of the FBI, Phoenix Police Department, and BCSO detectives, who worked diligently to track down the individuals responsible for supplying the firearm used in the shooting. "BCSO was committed to tracking down anyone who unlawfully assisted Litton, and the arrest of Kitagawa fulfills that commitment," Sheriff Honea stated.