Gunman dressed in black opens fire at Carlsbad elementary school, injuring two students

UPDATE - PROPANE TANK ALSO FOUND NEAR SUSPECT - BOMB SQUAD HAS BEEN CALLED OUT

UPDATE - MAN WAS RANTING ABOUT THE PRESIDENT
UPDATE - MAN WAS NOT RANTING ABOUT THE PRESIDENT - SUSPECT HAS BEEN ID'D (at bottom)

Carlsbad is a nice little area north of San Diego.

From the LA Times:

A gunman dressed in black opened fire outside an elementary school in Carlsbad on Friday afternoon, wounding two students before being tackled by construction workers, officials said.

The students suffered graze wounds and were being treated by doctors, officials said, and a bomb squad was called to examine a propane tank found in the suspect's car.

Shortly after noon, the suspect rolled up to the school in his car, said Lt. Kelly Cain of the Carlsbad Police Department. Armed with a .357-caliber handgun, Cain said, the suspect stepped onto the sidewalk next to the school playground and started firing wildly.

Construction workers nearby witnessed the incident and tackled the gunman, Cain said. 

[Updated at 2:15 p.m.: Construction worker Carlos Partida told 10News in San Diego that after the gunman opened fire at the playground, he got into his truck and was able to knock the suspect down with the vehicle before the man was tackled by other workers.]

[Updated at 2:40 p.m.: Ed Willins, who was nearby when the incident occurred, said he saw the construction workers tackle the suspect.

"They were on him immediately," he said. "They administered a little street justice on him before the cops got there."]

After the incident, parents were notified and came to pick up their kids, officials said.

-- Tony Perry in Carlsbad

Photos: The scene after the school shooting.

From the Associated Press:

Terry Lynn told KNSD-TV he looked out his window to see a man park his van, jump over a fence at Kelly Elementary School, walk across a field, and fire a .357 Magnum revolver toward a crowd of children.

"He was saying something about the president, he was ranting," Lynn said.

Interesting that somehow this shooting had been made out to be an anti-Obama lunatic, when it wasn't. A witness had said it was. Same witness said the man was carrying a Jack-o-Lantern. He apparently was not.

Why would someone lie about stuff like that? Or, if they weren't lying, how is it they misperceived the situation in such an extreme manner. Weird, huh?

From the LA Times Blog:

Authorities late Friday identified the alleged gunman in a Carlsbad, Calif., school shooting that left two young girls with minor injuries as Brendan L. O’Rourke, 41, thought to be a transient.

O'Rourke was booked on six counts of attempted murder and numerous weapons violations, police said. He is being held at the San Diego County jail in Vista.

Construction worker Carlos Partida, who was remodeling the school kitchen in the beachside community 30 miles north of San Diego, said he saw a man jump over the school fence and start firing a gun at children. He said the gunman appeared to be reloading and trying to leave the scene when Partida jumped in his truck and rammed the man, knocking him down.

Partida said the gunman, who was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and black pants, had been screaming incoherently. Authorities later discredited initial reports that the gunman was ranting about President Obama.

Some witnesses said the gunman was carrying a gasoline can and others said it seemed to be gasoline can decorated like a Halloween jack-o’-lantern. The bomb squad was called to examine a propane tank found in the gunman's car.

From CBS:

News 8 has learned O'Rourke has a valid security guard's license issued by the state of California, but that license does not permit him to carry a gun.

Records show O'Rourke has previous addresses and relatives in Illinois. He currently lives in the Canyon Creek Apartments on Garrison St. in Oceanside, records show. Neighbors in the complex described O'Rourke as a loner with a temper. Resident Vickie Roe-Mitchell told News 8 she has called police on O'Rourke in the past for his erratic behavior.

"I'm not surprised.  I'm kind of scared of him," Roe-Mitchell said.  "He'd scream out things like, 'I'm going to burn your eyes out.  I'm going to kill you.'"

A preliminary background check Friday night showed several minor traffic violations in Illinois, but no felony criminal history in either California or Illinois under the name Brendan L. O'Rourke. However, Carlsbad police officers reported that O'Rourke initially gave them three different names during questioning. 

previous stuff:

">From Now Public:

Two Children Were Shot at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad California on Friday Afternoon

The North County Times reports that two children were shot in the arm and one person is in custody, but police may be looking for a second suspect. The children are considered to have non-life threatening injuries.

According to NBC San Diego, the shooter, described as a 'gray-haired man', leapt a fence to gain access to the school grounds and he gave the police three names, including a woman's name when he was caught and questioned. A propane tank was also found near the suspect's car, parked near the school. 

A man named Scott Chandler, who lives across the street, and a few construction workers helped to tackle the suspect to the ground. Mr. Chandler said that the suspect had a box of bullets in his pants and he had brought a '5 gallon gas can'. 

Witness Terry Lynn said that he saw the gunman shooting toward a field with children in it. He said he saw what was happening and screamed, "No! No!" at the gunman, then jumped in his van and raced down to the school to help, but when he had pulled up, Chandler and the construction workers already had the suspect in custody.

Source: nbcsandiego.com

The school is on lockdown and parents are being told to go to Laguna Riviera Park on Kelly Drive and Park Drive for more information about the shooting. 

The names of the students shot and the suspect has not been released, but witnesses describe seeing one person being put on a stretcher and being airlifted to hospital to receive more medical attention. 

San Diego Sheriff's officials confirmed that Carlsbad police have requested the sheriff's bomb squad to respond after suspicious devices were found.

Source: nctimes.com

Police are conducting a thorough search of the building but are not releasing much more information at this time. 

"My mind is crazy right now. I am dying to hear what is happening," said Alexandra Espidella, who is the mother of four children at the school.

Source: nctimes.com

Any motive for the shooting has not been released at this time.

About 450 students attend Kelly Elementary.

We will update this post when more information becomes available. 

From Sign on San Diego:

The gunman, who dropped a gas can on the field during the chase, tried to hop the fence and the workers tackled him. They retrieved a .357 Magnum silver revolver with a wooden handle and held him until police arrived.

“He came prepared, with extra ammunition and reloaders packed in his pocket,” Lynn said.

Bomb investigators were examining a propane tank that was sitting outside the suspect’s car, a tan sedan parked at the curb near the field.

The suspect’s name has not been released, and police were working to verify his identity. He has given police three names so far, including a woman’s name, said Cain.

He was described by witnesses as 20 to 30 years old, clean-shaven, with short hair. Police described him as “gray-haired.”