‘He was crazy’
School shooter kills teacher and student, 8
A CALIFORNIA gunman shot and killed his wife and one of her 8-year-old students at a San Bernardino elementary school Monday before turning the gun on himself, officials said.
The boy, Jonathan Martinez, was near his teacher Karen Smith when her husband opened fire in her special-needs classroom at North Park Elementary School, police said.
Cedric Anderson, 53, is believed to have said he needed to drop something off to Smith, also 53, concealing a handgun before terrifying her 15 students and two teachers aides.
Another boy, 9, was wounded in the gunfire, but was in stable condition late Monday.
Smith’s mother, Irma Sykes, 80, said her daughter married Anderson three months earlier — and soon realized it was a terrible mistake.
“In the first month, she found out she’d married the wrong person,” Sykes told the Daily News.
“He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing . . . . The real Cedric came out. He thought she might be fooling around with somebody. He was just crazy. He was off his rocker. He threatened her. He started threatening to kill her. He told her he would throw her out the window,” Sykes said.
Smith and Anderson had dated for four years on and off, Sykes said. Her daughter never mentioned any abusive behavior from Anderson during that time, the 83-year-old said.
But a week after the wedding, Smith called her mom to say Anderson was a mess. Eventually, she left, Sykes said.
“She was shocked, like, ‘What happened?’. . . She had no idea,” said Sykes.
Her daughter never said she feared Anderson would hunt her down with a gun and kill her, Sykes said.
But she knew it wasn’t safe to stay in the house as the marriage ended, her mom said.
“He was angry. He tried to butter her up and say all kinds of nice things to her, after he cursed her out. She decided no, she was not going to stay with him. And that’s why he killed her,” Sykes said.
San Bernardino police said Anderson had a criminal history, including domestic violence, in a previous relationship.
Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic Hope, knew Anderson and said he was a respected pastor who had a passion for activism.
“Nobody saw this coming. None of us knew the dark side of his private life. But Karen must have found out . . . ” said Ali. “I hope he burns in hell for what he did.”