Death Toll in San Bernardino School Shooting Rises to 3
The shooting is a suspected murder-suicide involving estranged spouses.
North Park Elementary School is in San Bernardino, Calif.
One of the students shot Monday at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif., has died as a result of his injuries. The boy has been identified as 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez. The other student injured in the shooting, who is an unidentified 9-year-old male, is in stable condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Both were air-lifted from the scene of the shooting.
The third victim has been identified as Karen Smith, 53, a teacher of the class. The suspect has been identified as her estranged husband, Cedric Anderson, 53, reports ABC7 and NBC4. Anderson had a history of domestic violence, weapons and drug charges, and he and Smith had only been married for three months. The incident is a suspected murder-suicide.
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The shooting happened in a special-needs classroom for first through fourth grade students. It began when Anderson signed in as a visitor to the school, saying he was dropping off something for his wife.
Anderson then went to Smith’s classroom and shot her. The two student victims were behind Smith and were struck. Anderson then took his own life. Authorities believe neither of the students were targeted. Several other students in the classroom witnessed the attack.
The shooting took place at 10:30 a.m., and law enforcement officers arrived in 4 minutes.
North Park Elementary was on lockdown, and Hillside Elementary School and Cajon High School were placed on precautionary lockdown. Cal State University San Bernardino students were asked to shelter in place.
North Park students were taken to Cajon High School where they were picked up by their parents.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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