SAN BERNARDINO — A husband fatally shot his estranged wife in her classroom at San Bernardino, California’s North Park Elementary School, on Monday before killing himself, San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said.
Two students were injured in the murder-suicide; one child later died at a hospital, Burguan said.
Burguan said the shooter, Cedric Anderson, 53, of Riverside, walked into the classroom armed with a large caliber revolver and opened fire “without saying anything,” killing Karen Elaine Smith, also 53, also of Riverside. Smith was a teacher at the school.
The two students who were struck by gunfire were standing behind Smith, the police chief said.
Jonathan Martinez, 8, died at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda after being airlifted from the school, the police chief said. The other student, a 9-year-old boy, was listed in stable condition at the medical center, according to the hospital.
Police do not believe the two children were targeted; they happened to be near the teacher.
Burguan said that at the time of the shooting there were 15 students from grades one through four in the special needs classroom, along with two adult aides.
“This is a tragic incident that has befallen our city,” San Bernardino Police Lt. Michael Madden told reporters earlier.
Madden said police had received reports of the shooting at the school shortly before 10:30 a.m., and officers responded within minutes.
San Bernardino Police Capt. Ron Maass, the incident commander, said Anderson had gone to the classroom to visit Smith. There is no indication the suspect’s handgun was visible when he entered the school, Maass said.
Anderson signed in at the front office when he entered the school, according to Maass. He said he believed Anderson was known to the front office.
Burguan said Anderson told employees in the office he wanted to drop something off with his wife and then headed to the classroom. He added that it is not uncommon for a spouse to gain access to a school campus to meet with their spouse.
“He came in, and very, very quickly upon entering the classroom started shooting,” Burguan said.
Anderson also reloaded after firing what is believed to have been a .357-caliber revolver, the police chief said.
Burguan said preliminary information indicates the two were recently married.
“I’m told that their marriage was relatively short. They’ve only been married for a few months and they’ve been separated for about the last month, month-and-a-half, roughly, when this incident took place,” he said. “But there’s nobody that in the investigation has come forward to say that they saw this coming.”
Earlier, San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis said: “Far too often in our country and throughout the world, we gather to report this news of tragic events that take place,”
North Park students were evacuated and are being reunited with their parents at nearby Cajon High School, police said.
Frantic parents rushed to North Park Elementary after the shooting.
Brad Hendran told CNN affiliate KABC he was looking for his daughter, who is in the second grade.
“I fell to my knees and started saying our father and hail Mary’s. … I’m gonna hug her. … I’m gonna hug her. I hope she is OK,” Hendran said.
One father, who wasn’t identified by the CNN affiliate, stood behind police tape, looking for one of his sons. He said his two boys are in second grade and fifth grade.
“I see one of my boys, but not the smallest one,” he said tearfully. His eldest son had just gotten on a bus, he said.
He was at work when he heard about the shooting from the boys’ mom, who works for the school district.
District Superintendent Dale Marsden said North Park Elementary would be closed for at least the next two days.
“I would like our community and our nation to keep our families in prayer,” he said.
