Another student in stable condition after California attack in which Cedric Anderson allegedly shot his wife, a teacher in a special-needs classroom

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A gunman entered an elementary school classroom in San Bernardino, California, and fatally shot his estranged wife, who was a teacher, and an eight-year-old student on Monday, before he killed himself, according to law enforcement.

The student, Jonathan Martinez, was airlifted from North Park elementary school to a hospital where he later died, police said. Another wounded student is in stable condition.

Cedric Anderson, 53, shot his wife, Elaine Smith, a 53-year-old teacher in a special-needs classroom for students in the first through fourth grades, according to Jarrod Burguan, chief of the San Bernardino police department.

Anderson said nothing when he arrived with a large-caliber revolver, before he opened fire, police said. The two children were standing behind Smith when they were struck by gunfire. Authorities did not name the surviving student.

“The children we do not believe were targeted,” police Capt Ron Maass told reporters.

San Bernardino PD (@SanBernardinoPD) Suspect in shooting identified as Cedric Anderson, age 53, resident of Riverside, CA. pic.twitter.com/H9YYQZvZud

A 9-year-old girl who was one of the 15 students in the classroom when the gunman opened fire says he “shot everywhere,” hitting her friend and her teacher.

The girl, Marissa Perez, and her mother, Elizabeth Barajas, cried and hugged as they reunited several hours after Monday’s shooting.

Marissa, who had a small amount of blood on her sweatshirt as she talked to The Associated Press, said she hid under the table as soon as she saw the gunman. She said the man just walked in and started shooting. She pointed to her stomach when asked where her friend got shot.



In the morning, Jarrod Burguan, chief of the San Bernardino police department, wrote on Twitter that there was a large police presence at the site of the shooting and urged people to stay away from the area. Students were transported to the campus of California State University, San Bernardino, police said. Burguan had earlier said they were being transported to nearby Cajon high school.

Chief Jarrod Burguan (@SBPDChief) We believe this to be a murder suicide. Happened in a class room. Two students have been transported to the hospital.





The incident happened not far from the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, where a mass shooting in 2016 left 14 people dead. That center is the largest state-operated facility for those with developmental disabilities.

The shooters were Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, and they died in a shootout with police. Authorities classified the shooting as a terror attack.

Students at North Park were reunited with their families on Monday afternoon after some parents waited for hours to pick up their children. There are roughly 600 students at the public school, and they were bussed to the nearby campus several miles away after the shooting.