Gunman Fires Shots Into Crowd Of San Diego Elementary Children

A seemingly deranged gunman carrying a can of gasoline, a propane tank and numerous rounds of ammunition opened fire into a crowd of students at a Carlsbad primary school today, grazing two second-graders before being chased down and subdued by witnesses.

The unidentified assailant walked onto the grounds of Kelly Elementary and began shooting with a .357 Magnum revolver shortly after noon, according to witnesses, some of whom said he appeared to be carrying a jack-o’-lantern.

His pistol apparently ran out of ammunition before several construction workers who happened to be in the area gave chase on foot and in a pickup truck. One of them used the vehicle to knock down the attacker, allowing the good Samaritans to catch him and hold him for police, who arrived momentarily.

Two pupils were grazed by bullets in their arms, suffering minor injuries, police Lt. Kelly Cain told reporters. Medics airlifted them to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

The campus, meanwhile, was placed on lockdown as police worked to ensure that no other threats remained, a process that took several hours.

Sheriff’s bomb-squad personnel investigated the two fuel canisters the shooter had been carrying and “rendered them safe,” Carlsbad police Chief Gary Morrison said. Though Morrison referred to the containers as “suspicious devices,” it was unclear if the shooter had planned to ignite or detonate the fuel.

The gunman had left the propane tank outside his car, which was parked outside the school. He apparently dropped the small gas can on or near the campus grounds.

Parents were told meet at Laguna Rivera Park, a short distance from the Kelly Drive school, to pick up their children once an all-clear was issued. All pupils had been reunited with family members by shortly before 4 p.m., according to Kristina Ray, a spokeswoman for the city of Carlsbad.

Terry Lynn, who lives on a hill next to the campus, was in his upstairs bedroom when the gunfire rang out. He described looking out a window in horror and disbelief.

“I saw a guy walking across the field with a handgun, shooting randomly into the crowd of children,” he told NBC 7/39. “I immediately screamed, `No, no!”

Lynn, who said he did not see any children “drop,” ran outside, got into his van and sped the short distance to the school. As he pulled into a parking lot, he saw the construction workers go after the shooter, who fled when he saw them coming.

Lynn then drove over to the other side of the campus, toward where the gunman and his pursuers had run.

“By then, they had chased him over the fence and were trying to apprehend him,” Lynn said. “I pulled up and assisted them. They had him down on the ground. It was very chaotic. He had a .357 handgun.”

The gunman’s pockets were “full of” extra cartridges, along with a flashlight and other “electronic devices,” Lynn said.

“The guy came to do destruction,” he said. “We were lucky.”

Lynn said the assailant seemed “crazy.”

“He was saying something about the president and just ranting,” the witness said. “He was obviously not coherent.”

Police were working to positively identify the suspect. Ge gave them several names, including that of a woman, Cain said, “so that’s kind of what we’re dealing with on that end.”

Officers took the suspect to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla for an evaluation.

City trauma counselors and police and fire department chaplains went to the scene to help those traumatized by the attack.

Carlsbad Mayor Claude “Bud” Lewis offered “deep sympathy to all the children and families affected by today’s shooting.”

He said the Carlsbad Unified School District “handled the situation with the utmost sensitivity to its students and parents.”

“I would also like to commend our local citizens for their heroic efforts to stop the shooter,” Lewis said. “I am proud of the quick and thorough response of Carlsbad safety personnel and all of the other agencies (that) assisted throughout the incident.”