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North Park Elementary School Campus in San Bernardino

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One year ago, a man entered the San Bernardino classroom of his estranged wife, shot and killed her and one of her students, and wounded another.

Riverside resident Cedric Anderson, 53, came to North Park Elementary School shortly before 10:30 a.m. on April 10, 2017. He told the office staff that he was there to see his wife, special education teacher Karen Elaine Smith, 53. He walked into her classroom, around the corner from the office. Anderson emptied a six-shot .357 Magnum revolver. Anderson reloaded using a speed-loader and fired at least one more round, killing himself.

Smith had been working with students at a table when Anderson entered the classroom and fired, striking two children. Jonathan Alfredo Martinez, 8, was struck and killed. Jonathan's classmate, Nolan Brandy, survived.

  • A handmade sign hangs on a fence at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino following a shooting at the school. ORG XMIT: RIV1704171409067813

  • Cedric Anderson, 53, of Riverside, left, was identified by the San Bernardino Police Department as the gunman in the North Park Elementary school shooting Monday, April 10, 2017, while teacher Karen Smith, 53, was identified as his "estranged wife" and intended victim. (Photos courtesy of San Bernardino Police Department)

  • COURTESY PHOTO Jonathan Martinez, 8, was killed in a school shooting on Monday, April 10, 2017, at North Park Elementary School.

  • Nolan Brandy, 9, who was wounded during the North Park Elementary shooting, is recovering. Nolan is pictured here with his parents, Leon and Rachel Brandy. (Courtesy photo, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Parents and family of North Park Elementary School students stand across the street from the school waiting to hear from their children. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter. One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Parents wait outside Northpark Elementary School in San Bernardino to hear news on how their children are and where they can pick them up after a murder-suicide shooting left 2 adults dead and 2 students wounded on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Parents wait outside Northpark Elementary School in San Bernardino to hear news on how their children are and where they can pick them up after a murder-suicide shooting left 2 adults dead and 2 students wounded on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Parents wait outside Northpark Elementary School in San Bernardino to hear news on how their children are and where they can pick them up after a murder-suicide shooting left 2 adults dead and 2 students wounded on Monday, April 10, 2017. (Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Police stand watch over students as multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A San Bernardino Police Department SWAT team enters the Autumn Ridge gated community in the Orangecrest neighborhood of Riverside, where on Monday, April 10, 2017, they raided a home on Mt. Wasatch Drive while investigating a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo courtesy of Dan Cupido)

  • Police stand watch over students as multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A San Bernardino police officer guides students on to the playground as multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Parents and family of North Park Elementary School students stand across the street from the school waiting to hear from their children. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter. One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A mother holds her daughter tightly as they walk off-campus after being reunited at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Students from North Park Elementary are evacuated to Cal State University San Bernardino after a shooting occurred at the school in San Bernardino Monday. A gunman entered the school and killed a teacher and a student and wounded another student before turning the gun on himself. John Valenzuela/Staff Photographer

  • All ambulance driver rests her head on her hands outside North Park Elementary School. Multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting ÒTwo adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide,Ó San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting "Two adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Multiple law enforcement agencies respond to North Park Elementary school in San Bernardino, California, Monday April 10, where two people are dead and two children wounded in a shooting "Two adults are deceased in a classroom, believed to be a murder-suicide," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified. Two students have been taken to a nearby hospital, according to Burguan (Photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A man places wreathes, including one from President Donald Trump, left, at a sidewalk memorial to the teacher and student who were shot to death at North Park Elementary School. Trump, who has made repeated references to the 2015 San Bernardino terror attack, has been relatively silent about the North Park shooting.

  • Lena Hammerling and her daughters Melissa, left, and Maci, right, and an unidentified child look at a sidewalk memorial dedicated to the teacher and student who were shot to death Monday at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif., Tuesday, April 11, 2017.

  • Betty Rodriguez leans against her granddaughter Giselle Rodriguez, 11, both from San Bernardino, during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the North Park Elementary School shootings Monday April 10, 2017 at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino. (Will Lester-SCNG-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

  • North Park Elementary School teacher Susan Kumanski is comforted during a candle light vigil at a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A makeshift memorial site grows near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • A makeshift memorial site grows near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Children gather around a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Residents gather for an impromptu candle light vigil at a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Residents gather for an impromptu candle light vigil at a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Children gather around a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Children gather around a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Raina Mosqueda, 31, and her daughter Destiny Mosqueda, 8, of San Bernardino, place flowers at a makeshift memorial site at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • "Your schoolmates will miss you!" and "You are an angel above!!" are written on cards left by children at a makeshift memorial site near North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

  • Residents and local officials gather for a vigil for the victims of the North Park Elementary School shooting Monday April 10, 2017 at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino. (Will Lester-SCNG-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

  • An altar girl holds a candle prior to a vigil for the victims of the North Park Elementary School shooting victims Monday April 10, 2017 at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino. (Will Lester-SCNG-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

  • 4 candles burn,representing each shooting victim from North Park Elementary School during a vigil for the victims Monday April 10, 2017 at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino. (Will Lester-SCNG-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

  • San Bernardino City Unified superintendent Dale Marsden speaks about Monday's school shooting at North Park Elementary during a news conference Tuesday at the San Bernardino Police Department. (Photo by John Valenzuela/SCNG)

  • San Bernardino City Unified School District APR Director Linda Bardere shows the media the new buzzer video camera entry system to the school during a media tour of the fatal shooting Monday of teacher Karen Smith and 8-year-old student Jonathan Martinez at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA. Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017. TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

  • North Park Elementary School office personal will view each person on this monitor before buzzing them in to the office as part of the new security system to the school during a media tour of the fatal shooting Monday of teacher Karen Smith and 8-year-old student Jonathan Martinez at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA. Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017. TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

  • A member of the media records the new buzzer video camera entry system to the school during a media tour of the fatal shooting Monday of teacher Karen Smith and 8-year-old student Jonathan Martinez at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA. Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017. TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

  • A member of the San Bernardino City Unified School District walks out of the new C1 classroom so students and teachers do not have to work in the room of the fatal shooting Monday of teacher Karen Smith and 8-year-old student Jonathan Martinez at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA. Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017. TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

  • North Park principal Yadira Downing speaks about returning to the campus for a new school year, four months after a shooting that left a teacher and student dead, during an interview in her office at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, July 31, 2017. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

Nolan is now "completely healed," according to his mother, Rachel Brandy. "He's good."

Noises, especially loud ones, but even something as soft as a creaking footstep, sometimes scare Nolan. But he's otherwise back to normal and "causing trouble," his mother said.

Healing invisible wounds

Classroom B1, where the shooting took place, no longer exists. The room has had its walls knocked down, and is now an open space for students to work on projects. And North Park's entire classroom numbering system is new. There's no longer a Classroom B1 or a conspicuous space in the numbering system where it used to be.

"I still have issues passing by that classroom area. But each day, I go with him," Brandy said. "I still see the same old building. I see all of that. But you have to move forward."

San Bernardino City Unified worked with students, staff and parents since the shooting, offering them support, counseling and classes.

"With any counseling or therapy program, you always want the plan to end with emancipation," said Rose Ann Bomentre, director of the district's Student Wellness & Support Services. "You want to make sure the student and family to be empowered and to bring them to a new normalcy."

Emergency and intensive support were added to the district's existing support programs during those crucial first two dozen days following the shooting and are still available at North Park today.

Exposure to gun violence can lead to children avoiding school. And it can lead to dramatic changes in behavior while there, like retreating from normally interesting activities, fighting and bullying, according to Michael Schertel, the Department of Behavioral Health's Deputy Director.

A recent national survey found 5 percent of 10,000 teens polled have met the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in their lifetime. That rate was higher among girls than boys, at 8 percent compared to 2.3 percent.

Caught early enough, PTSD responds well in counseling, according to experts. The San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health has been able to help identify the symptoms of PTSD in children.

A mother holds her daughter tightly as they walk off-campus after being reunited at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)
A mother holds her daughter tightly as they walk off-campus after being reunited at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif. on Monday, April 10, 2017. Two people and one child were killed, and another child wounded, in a shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Sun/SCNG)

Experts say there's a difference in how elementary school-aged children exhibit PTSD symptoms versus older children and teens and adults. Younger kids tend to rearrange the sequence of events when remembering the trauma according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD. Children often believe if they're alert enough, they can avoid future traumas. They may also participate in post-traumatic play, like more shooting games after exposure to a school shooting.

Most parents miss early symptoms. Children often don't get help until their behavior becomes so disruptive that school officials or police intervene. Experts say this has led to the misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.

Even those who have left North Park Elementary since last April are still being offered services.

"We took all of the fifth-graders from last year, who transferred to a middle school or sixth grade, and we made sure we make a watch and monitor list for the counselors at their new schools," Bomentre said. This allows counselors unfamiliar with the students to see if any extra help is needed.  So far, Bomentre said very few have needed it and most have been adjusting well.

Domestic violence in the workplace

Anderson and Smith married on Jan. 28, 2017, but separated in March, according to police. Smith didn't tell anyone at the school about the separation, according to coworkers. The quick exit from the relationship has led some to wonder if Smith was abused.

Cedric Anderson, 53, of Riverside, left, was identified by the San Bernardino Police Department as the gunman in the North Park Elementary school shooting Monday, April 10, 2017, while teacher Karen Smith, 53, was identified as his "estranged wife" and intended victim. (Photos courtesy of San Bernardino Police Department)
Cedric Anderson, 53, of Riverside, left, was identified by the San Bernardino Police Department as the gunman in the North Park Elementary school shooting Monday, April 10, 2017, while teacher Karen Smith, 53, was identified as his "estranged wife" and intended victim. (Photos courtesy of San Bernardino Police Department)

Domestic abuse can spill into the victim's workplace. Educating employers can lessen the stigma that keeps many victims from seeking help.

"There is still a taboo around it," said Gloria Amaya, program director for Option House, Inc. "There is still a lot of shame and embarrassment around sexual assault and domestic violence. But it you don't speak about it, it affects the function of the company, the employer and everyone around the victim."

Amaya would like to see more domestic violence awareness training in the workplace.

"Just like employers have workers' compensation bulletins up in some areas, they should also have the numbers to domestic violence prevention hotlines or a number to the HR department," Amaya said, "so employees — men and women — know that they can open up and talk about this."

Even when abuse doesn't lead to workplace violence, it can cost employers.

Domestic violence costs companies $5.4 billion each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also accounts for about 5 percent of all workplace homicides.

Gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety say that 54 percent of mass shootings in the United States between 2009 and 2016 involve domestic or family violence. The group's report was released the day after last year's North Park shooting.

'It is still sad, and it will always be that way'

Brandy said the past year has been one of complex, mixed emotions.

"It's half and half," she said. "I am just totally, totally grateful that my son has survived. But I think about the other families, and I think about the other child who died, and my heart just aches."

Brandy doesn't believe Anderson meant to harm any of the 14 students in the special education classroom.

"He wasn't trying to hurt the children. But in the same note, he didn't care," Brandy said. "His anger was so that was all he cared about. He wanted vengeance, he wanted to get her back. That's all he cared about."

COURTESY PHOTO Jonathan Martinez, 8, was killed in a school shooting on Monday, April 10, 2016, at North Park Elementary School.
COURTESY PHOTO Jonathan Martinez, 8, was killed in a school shooting on Monday, April 10, 2016, at North Park Elementary School.

Jonathan's family has sued San Bernardino City Unified. They allege the district and Principal Yadira Downing were negligent and that the shooting could have been avoided.

The district improved campus security during the week North Park was closed after the shooting and remodeled and improved the school before the 2017-18 school began in August. Each classroom now has walls lined with tempered glass windows. There are steel doors, which teachers can lock from the inside. And all classrooms now include a door that leads outside, as required by state law. Smith's classroom did not have an outside door last year.

Brandy says she doesn't "have time for anger" at the district.

"The person I'm angry at took care of themselves," she said.

Brandy will be speaking at a vigil Tuesday night in San Bernardino at Sandals Church in San Bernardino.

"I want to show the side of, OK, yes, this terrible thing has gone down, but I want you to see that my son has made it, through it all," she said. "We are rejoicing that we have our child. But in the same breath, it is still sad, and it will always be that way."

Nolan returned to North Park Elementary for the new school year, as did most of the staff.

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"I was asked, do I want to switch him. I said no," Brandy said. "I didn't want to meet any new people. It would probably be just as hard to go to a new school and get acclimated."

When she speaks on Tuesday, Brandy's ultimate message will be one of acceptance and hope, she said.

"We're still the happy Brandy family," she said. Nolan has two older sisters, 17 and 18 years old. "Things happen in life. We don't know why. You just have to try to accept them."

Remembering the dead

The victims of last year's North Park Elementary shooting will be honored at a memorial for the victims of domestic violence at 11 a.m. Sunday at Option House, Inc. at 813 N. D Street in San Bernardino. Dozens of balloons will be released into the air to remember the lives lost as a result of domestic violence, followed by a walk-a-thon and community clean-up. Call 909-383-1602 for more information.

A memorial service for the North Park victims will be held Tuesday evening at 4:30 p.m. at Sandals Church at 3701 N. Sierra Way in San Bernardino. A welcome reception begins at 4 p.m. Call 951-637-8800 for more information.

North Park Elementary School Campus in San Bernardino

Source: https://www.sbsun.com/2018/04/09/north-park-elementary-looking-back-at-the-san-bernardino-school-shooting-1-year-later/

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