San Bernardino shooting: Gunman who shot dead wife and eight-year-old boy at school had professed love for her online

David Gardner11 April 2017

A gunman who shot dead his teacher wife and an eight-year-old boy inside a Californian primary school classroom had professed his love for her on social media weeks earlier.

Cedric Anderson, 53, walked into the school in San Bernardino at 10.25am yesterday and shot Karen Smith, a special needs teacher, with a .357 Magnum. The bullet also hit two pupils. He then reloaded the gun and shot himself.

Eight-year-old Jonathan Martinez, who was standing behind Ms Smith, was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Centre, where he died of his injuries. A second injured student, aged nine, who has not been named, was in stable condition this morning.

Police said Anderson had a criminal history that included weapons charges, domestic violence and possible drug charges.

Killer: Cedric Anderson and his wife Karen Smith, whom he shot dead in a classroom

Ms Smith, also 53, was seeking a divorce, her mother Irma Sykes said. “She thought she had a wonderful husband, but she found out he was not wonderful at all. He had other motives. She left him and that’s where the trouble began.”

Just weeks earlier the killer had posted videos on social media professing his love for the teacher.

According to Anderson’s Facebook page, the couple tied the knot in late January but police said they had been separated for the past month and a half.

The gunman posted several photos of him and Ms Smith following their wedding ceremony, including videos of them kissing while hiking in Arizona for their honeymoon and a post calling her an “angel”. Some of his other messages quoted Bible verses.

School shooting: There are believed to have been 'several victims' during a shooting at North Park Elementary School, California
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He posted a video in February saying his wife was “making me really happy”. In the 12-second clip, he also said “She knows when to ignore me” as he laughed and flashed a smile, adding: “That makes a happy marriage.”

Anderson was allowed entry to North Park Elementary School school at about 10.25am yesterday morning after signing in at the front desk and telling staff that he had something to drop off for his wife.

Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said the shooter went to his wife’s classroom and “without saying anything” shot her with a large-calibre revolver.

“The entire incident is limited to a single classroom. The suspect had come to visit the female victim,” added Captain Ron Maas of the San Bernardino Police Department. “The children, we do not believe were targeted. They were the unfortunate recipients of injuries by being in proximity to the female at the time.”

Colleagues remembered Ms Smith as a dedicated educator who loved her job.

“It takes a very, very special person to be a special education teacher,” said Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. “We want her to be remembered for the amazing teacher that she was.”

Police do not yet know how many shots exactly were fired. All of the 520 other children in the school were immediately evacuated afterwards. They were seen making their way across the playground holding hands before being put on buses to leave the scene.

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