Orinda school board member and husband hurt in violent robbery

A pair of armed robbers wearing Halloween masks shot a member of the Orinda school board twice and pistol-whipped her husband during a robbery in the driveway of the victims’ Orinda home, authorities said Tuesday.

Orinda Union School District officials identified the victims as 70-year-old Carol Brown, a member of the school board, and her husband, Tom Spalding, also 70.

Officers responded to reports of gunfire in the driveway of the victims’ home on the 30 block of Claremont Avenue around 9:09 p.m. Monday, said Orinda Police Chief Mark Nagel. The victims were unloading groceries from their car when they where confronted by the assailants, one brandishing a pistol, he said.

Police in Orinda are hunting for a violent robber who forced his way into a home, pistol-whipped a nanny Monday and stole a Porsche. Police in Orinda are hunting for a violent robber who forced his way into a home, pistol-whipped a nanny Monday and stole a Porsche. Photo: Paul Chinn Photo: Paul Chinn Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Orinda school board member and husband hurt in violent robbery 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The robbers demanded Spalding’s wallet and Brown’s purse, Nagel said. “Out of nowhere,” one assailant pistol-whipped Spalding even though he complied with orders to hand over his wallet, Nagel said.

Dazed and bleeding from a gash to the head, Spalding stumbled inside his house to call 911. Then came the crack of two gunshots.

The masked muggers shot Brown twice before fleeing the scene, police said. The school board member was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with non-life-threatening injuries, Nagel said, and her husband later joined her to receive medical attention for the gash to his head.

In a letter to parents of district students, schools Superintendent Carolyn Seaton wrote that she asked police to step up patrols around nearby Wagner Ranch Elementary School, near the victims home, “out of an abundance of caution.”

Before being attacked, Brown picked up her husband from the Orinda BART Station. They stopped at a Safeway less than 2 miles from their home to buy groceries. Police haven’t identified a motive in the robbery, but are looking into the possibility that the two masked men scoped out their victims at the Safeway, then followed them to their home in the quiet residential area.

“It is very surprising,” Nagel said. “It’s very unusual for this city, and I do want to reiterate that I do believe we are still safe. We are a very safe city.”

Neighbors heard the gunshots but did not see the suspects, police said.

“Job No. 1 is to put this all together,” Nagel said. “We’re going to keep working on this.”

In a joint statement, Seaton and Julie Rossiter, president of the Orinda school board, said they were “shocked and stunned” to learn that Brown and Spalding were victims of the violent attack.

“We are deeply relieved and grateful to know the injuries are not life threatening, and that Carol is receiving excellent care,” Seaton and Rossiter said in their statement. “It’s hard to believe this violent act took place in our peaceful community.”

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michael_bodley