School Gunman's Threats Taken as 'Cry for Attention'

He had no trouble getting into San Bernardino school
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 12, 2017 4:18 AM CDT
San Bernardino Gunman Had Threatened Wife Before
This photo released by the San Bernardino Police Department shows Cedric Anderson, 53.   (San Bernardino Police Department via AP)

Cedric Anderson had threatened his estranged wife before, but nobody realized how dangerous he really was until he opened fire in her San Bernardino classroom on Monday, police say. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Tuesday that Anderson, 53, who killed Karen Smith and an 8-year-old special-needs student before shooting himself, was allowed to go to Smith's classroom at North Park Elementary School because staff members recognized him, the San Bernardino Sun reports. Burguan says Smith, who separated from Anderson in March after less than three months of marriage, only told close family members that he had threatened her. "She effectively kept her private life private," the chief says.

The chief adds that Smith, who had moved back in with her adult children, believed Anderson's threats were only a cry for attention. The 8-year-old boy killed as he stood behind Smith has been identified as Jonathan Martinez, who had the genetic condition Williams syndrome, which causes developmental delays, the Desert Sun reports. School district Superintendent Dale Marsden says Jonathan's parents, who described him as a happy boy, want his death to spread awareness of the disease. A GoFundMe campaign to help the boy's family raised nearly $100,000 by the end of Tuesday. Marsden says a 9-year-old boy hit in the upper body by a bullet who was hospitalized in critical condition is "up and watching cartoons" and is expected to make a full recovery. (More school shooting stories.)

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