11 Apr 2017

San Bernardino gunman kills wife and student in murder-suicide

12:09 pm on 11 April 2017

A special education teacher and a student were fatally shot by her estranged husband when he opened fire in her classroom before killing himself at a California primary school, police say.

The screenshot from ABC News reportedly shows the students who have evacuated from the San Bernardino school after the shooting.

The screenshot from ABC News reportedly shows the students who have evacuated from the San Bernardino primary school after the shooting. Photo: Screenshot / ABC News

The gunman has been identified by police as Sedrick Anderson, 53, of San Bernardino and his wife as Karen Elaine Smith.

Authorities said an 8-year-old boy died from his wounds and his 9-year-old classmate was admitted to hospital in a stable condition.

They said Anderson had a criminal history that included domestic violence and weapons charges.

City Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said the couple had been married briefly and had been separated for about a month.

The two students were struck by gunfire had been standing behind Smith, he said.

Neither student was related to the dead couple.

San Bernardino was the scene of a mass shooting in 2015 when a husband and wife killed 14 people and wounded more than 20 others at a holiday office party.

Authorities said the couple, Syed Rizwan Farook, and Tashfeen Malik, were inspired by Islamic extremism.

They were killed by police during a shootout.

Reuters / BBC

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