Update 8:32 p.m. (AP) - People have gathered at a vigil to pray for everyone affected by a murder-suicide at an elementary school in San Bernardino.
The vigil at Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Monday night came hours after a man walked into his estranged wife's North Park Elementary School classroom and opened fire without saying a word, killing her and an 8-year-old student before shooting himself in a murder-suicide. The incident spread panic across a city still recovering emotionally from a terror attack just 15 months ago.
A 9-year-old student also was critically wounded. He and the boy who died were behind their special-education teacher, Karen Elaine Smith, 53, the target of the man she had married months earlier, police said.
The shooting left hundreds of distraught parents waiting for hours to reunite with their children.
Staffers knew Cedric Anderson, who had been estranged from his wife for about a month, and he got into the school by saying he had to drop something off for Smith, officials said.
Anderson had a history of weapons, domestic violence and possible drug charges that predated the short marriage, authorities said.
Update 4:35 p.m.: (AP) - Authorities say a man told a San Bernardino school that he had come to drop something off for his teacher-wife before shooting and killing her and a student in a special-needs classroom.
Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Monday at a news conference that 53-year-old Karen Elaine Smith was targeted and that her estranged husband, 53-year-old Cedric Anderson, opened fire "very, very quickly upon entering the classroom." There were 15 students in the classroom.
Burguan says Anderson shot and killed himself after shooting his wife. Two children standing behind Smith were struck by gunfire, killing 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez and wounding a 9-year-old boy.
San Bernardino City Unified School District superintendent Dale Marsden said Anderson was "known to staff" at the school.
Suspect in shooting identified as Cedric Anderson(Left), age 53, resident of Riverside, CA. Victim in school shooting identified as Karen Smith (right), age 53, estranged wife of suspect. (San Bernardino Police Department / Twitter)
Update 3:53 p.m.: (AP) - An 8-year-old student has died after being shot in a San Bernardino classroom during what police describe as a murder-suicide.
The suspected gunman, 53-year-old Cedric Anderson, of Riverside, shot his wife, 53-year-old Elaine Smith. She was a teacher in the special-needs classroom for students in first through fourth grades where the shooting took place.
Police say he said nothing and opened fire on his wife with a large-caliber revolver. Two children standing behind Smith were struck by gunfire.
Police identified the boy who died as Jonathan Martinez. Authorities didn't name the other boy who was wounded and is now in stable condition.
Update 1:55 p.m.: (AP) - A San Bernardino police official says two children wounded in a shooting at an elementary school were not the targets.
Police Capt. Ron Maass says, "The children we do not believe were targeted. The suspect had come to the classroom to visit. The adult female was in the classroom."
Police did not identify the shooter or the teacher.
The weapon was a handgun, police said.
The two wounded students are in critical condition.
Update 12:40 p.m.: (AP) - A San Bernardino police spokesman says two wounded students are in critical condition after a shooting at an elementary school.
Authorities have said the suspect and another adult are dead.
The shooting took place in a classroom.
Update 11:45 a.m.: (AP) - The San Bernardino police chief says two adults are dead after a shooting at an elementary school.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan says on Twitter that investigators believe "the suspect is down." He says there is no further threat to the school.
Burguan says the shooting is believed to be a murder-suicide.
He also says at least two students were taken to a hospital.
Update 11:35 a.m.: (AP) - A spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified school district says one of four people shot in a classroom was a teacher.
Maria Garcia says the shooting is believed to be a domestic dispute.
At least two students have been airlifted to a hospital.
Original: (AP) - The police chief of San Bernardino says a shooting at an elementary school appears to be a murder-suicide.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said on Twitter that there four victims being treated, including at least two students who were taken to a hospital.
He says the shooting happened in a classroom.
The other students in the school were being evacuated and taken to a nearby school.
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