It was every parent’s worst nightmare: An active shooter on campus.

At 10:27 a.m. Monday, San Bernardino police received reports of shots fired at an elementary school down the street. Two adults and one student were killed and another student critically injured at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino.

The gunman had opened fire in a special needs classroom in an apparent murder-suicide, officials said, hitting the teacher and two students before turning the gun on himself.

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Within seven minutes of the initial call, officers were on-site, and schools throughout the district were placed on lockdown. Aerial footage of North Park showed panicked parents flooding the streets, running toward the school.

"I was flipping out, freaking out," said Jaime Meinhardt, a parent whose son attends the school.

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Meinhardt lives 10 minutes from North Park, but on Monday she got there in three minutes, running red lights and swerving around other cars. Road closures forced her to park a short distance from campus and run to the school, where she spotted her 10-year-old son, Anthony, being loaded onto a bus to evacuate campus.

She screamed his name and he waved back. Meinhardt was relieved, but said she and other parents are left wondering why the tragedy occurred. "It's so really not OK. Who does that?" Meinhardt asked.

Continue reading the story below.

The suspect, Cedric Anderson, a 53-year-old man from Riverside, told school office workers that he was there to drop something off for his wife, said San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan. School officials checked his ID and let him on campus. A weapon was not visible at the time.

Anderson entered the classroom of Karen Elaine Smith, also 53, where she taught 15 special education students with the help of two adult aides. He was armed with a .327 revolver. Without saying a word, Anderson opened fire, hitting Smith and two children who were standing behind her, then reloaded and then shot himself, Burguan said. The revolver was found next to Anderson’s body.

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At a news conference, Burguan said investigators were not yet sure how many rounds were fired nor what make or model the handgun was.

Eight-year-old Jonathan Martinez was flown in a helicopter to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he died shortly after arrival, said Dr. Tamara Thomas, a spokesperson for the hospital. Teams were assembled and waiting at the hospital, Thomas said, but Martinez didn’t make it into surgery.

Another child, aged 9, whose name is not being released, was also hit and was taken by ambulance to Loma Linda medical center in critical condition. His condition has since been stabilized, Thomas said.

The 9-year-old is expected to fully recover and was up and watching cartoons by Tuesday, San Bernardino City Unified School District Superintendent Dale Marsden said.

"We have no reason to believe the students were targeted," Burguan said, pausing. "Not that that makes it any better."

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A vigil for the victims was held Monday night at Our Lady of the Assumption Church.

Marsden said office workers followed the normal procedures for admitting someone to campus, including verifying identification.

"The person was confirmed to be who they said they were, they were known by staff and so that person was admitted to campus," Marsden said.

According to preliminary investigations, Anderson had a history of arrests involving domestic violence, weapons charges and drugs, Burguan said. Anderson and Smith had been recently married but were believed to have had an estranged relationship, he added.

On Facebook, Smith posted about her wedding at the Bethesda Temple Church in Los Angeles on January 28. As recently as March 4, Anderson was still posting photographs of the two of them smiling and hugging.

Police have secured and searched a home believed to be owned by Anderson in Riverside and have no reason to believe there are other victims, officials said.

“This is a tragic incident that has befallen our city,” said San Bernardino Police Lt. Mike Madden, “and I assure you we’re doing everything we can to conduct a thorough investigation."

North Park was quickly evacuated, with students bused to the California State University, San Bernardino campus a few blocks down the street. Following some confusion, the school district advised parents to pick children up with a photo ID at Cajon High School, a couple blocks to the west. The first group of students were reunited with their parents around 1:30 p.m. Several hours later, around 4 p.m., the last students were released.

North Park will be closed for days and is expected to reopen Monday, April 17, officials said in a Tuesday news conference.

'I'm still in shock'

In an atmosphere of confusion and anxiety, officials were cautious to release students to parents without a thorough check of identification. That slowed the process considerably, but the waiting elementary students were kept busy with snacks, movies and the police department’s community affairs dog Sherlock.

Sharie Anderson said she was among the lucky parents.

Though Anderson waited at the school for an "uncomfortable" hour, children were being released by grade and her 5-year-old son, Raja, was part of the first group.

Raja had no idea what happened and happily munched on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich afterwards with his mother.

"He just knows police came and helped him," Anderson said.

San Bernardino resident Rosslyn Overstreet, who also rushed to Cajon High School to pick up her 18-year-old daughter, Joanne, said, "I'm really a nervous wreck about what happened."

Although the shooting happened at the elementary school, Overstreet — as well as other high school parents — were determined to get their children out of school.

"I'm still in shock," Overstreet said. "I know it can happen, but you never think about it happening at your kid's school or around your neighborhood."

The county behavioral health department dispatched teams of therapists and psychologists to talk to students and staff.

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San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis told reporters that he’d received a phone call from a White House official expressing concern on behalf of President Donald Trump. “He has offered his aid in any way possible to help in this situation," Davis said.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a statement thanking first responders and offering prayers for the victims. "As a mother and grandmother, today's senseless violence is a tragedy no parent should ever have to face," DeVos said.

Other officials including California Gov. Jerry Brown and State Superintendent Tom Torlakson have also offered condolences and support for the community.

'A tragic event'

Superintendent Marsden tried to assure parents who might be frightened to bring their kids to school in the coming days and asked for their patience. He encouraged parents to talk to their children about what happened and to reassure them that “the danger has passed.

"I have my own children in this district a stone’s throw from where we’re standing now," Marsden said. "This is a tragic event. It’s going to take time for our heads and our hearts to heal."

The shooting comes 17 months after a massacre and attempted bombing at the Inland Regional Center, which became the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil between September 2001 and June 2016. Fourteen people were killed and 22 were wounded.

“You saw a response that was as effective as it could have been,” Davis said, speaking of the Dec. 2, 2015 attack. “You also saw a community that came together that was concerned with retaliation, wanting to make sure that our community knew how to respond and come together in a united fashion and we did that.”

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On Monday, Davis said first responders once again did just that. Agencies from neighboring cities were quick to reach out to cover regular police beats, while about 150 San Bernardino police officers worked to secure North Park. Within an hour, officials reported that the threat was over.

Though the city has struggled with few resources in recent years and faced multiple tragedies, Davis offered words of hope.

“We will rise to help our parents, our teachers, to regroup and to once again gain confidence in our community,” he said.

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