Construction Workers Beat Down School Shooter

CARLSBAD: Neighbors say construction workers are real heroes



By CIGI ROSS - cross@nctimes.com North County Times - Californian | Posted: Friday, October 8, 2010 5:30 pm | (18) Comments | Print






They were heroes ---- heroes who risked their lives to save children, witnesses said Friday, recounting the quick action of neighbors and three construction workers who ran into the line of gunfire to tackle and subdue the deranged man shooting into a crowded playground at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad.

Police said the construction workers ---- Steven Kane, Mario Contreras and Carlos Partida of Chula Vista ---- were on the campus working when they heard shots and kids screaming.

The trio ran around the building and saw the shooter ---- later identified by police as 41-year-old Brendan O’Rourke ---- firing rounds toward the campus with a handgun.

Kane and Contreras chased O’Rourke, who appeared to be attempting to reload his handgun, while Partida got into his truck and struck the suspect with it, knocking him to the ground, police said.

Neighbor Scott Chandler, a former lifeguard who lives on a hill overlooking the quiet central Carlsbad campus, said he was working in his driveway when he heard what sounded like firecrackers.

He said he quickly realized they were gunshots, so he ran toward the school and saw a man in his 30s to mid-40s, wearing black pants and a hoodie, "shooting all over."

"Kids were scattering everywhere," said Chandler, 45. "The guy just kept shooting. I believe he reloaded once."

Another neighbor, Terry Lynn, said he heard gunshots from inside his house and saw the shooter "calmly walking" across the campus sports field, firing shots into a crowd of children. He said the shooter was holding with what appeared to be a .357-caliber handgun and a can of gasoline.

Lynn said he jumped in his van and raced down the hill to the school to stop the gunman. By the time he got there, he said, the construction workers had overtaken the suspect.

Chandler also said he saw the construction workers run toward the man, directly in the line of fire.

Lynn said when he first saw the suspect shooting, he screamed, "no, no!" But the suspect did not respond.

"I think the guy was deranged," Lynn said. "He was not coherent. He was crazy."

The suspect took a beating from the good Samaritans once they tackled him, the neighbors said.

The group kept the man subdued until police arrived.

"I tried to talk to him and ask him why he was shooting at kids," Chandler said. "By that time, he was face down in the dirt, and not happy."

The men "are the real heroes," Lynn said, adding that he felt fortunate to also be in a position to help.

"You hear about Columbine and those schools, and no one could do anything because they weren't there," he said. "You see it happening and if you can do something, you do."

After police took the suspect into custody, Chandler said he jumped back over the fence and went with the school's principal to search classrooms.

Seeing blood on the school grounds was disturbing, he said, and a reminder that things could have been much worse.

"I don't know what his intent was to do," Chandler said of the shooter, "but he didn't accomplish it."

Copyright 2010 North County Times - Californian. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted in Carlsbad on Friday, October 8, 2010 5:30 pm Updated: 8:44 am. | Tags:

 

awsome story. the only thing i would change is for the construction workers to keep the suspect subdued by parking their truck on him.

 

No way...Drewl was reporting, on scene.

 

This happened on the 8th...there should have been a report of a public hanging on the 9th...

 

I love a story with a happy ending.

 

If only one of the three had a carry permit...

 

carry permit? you can't go spouting off about these crazy things in California!!! I mean, if one of them had a carry permit, this poor deranged bastard would have the chance to sue the construction workers for stopping him using unnecessary force.


please note the sarcasm. This is exactly why I think most law abiding citizens should be allowed to carry, sometimes the cops just cant get there quick enough.

 

Hey, the author's name is at the top, so shut up.

Second of all, I would be surprised if the heroes were legal citizens...this is California, so I am not just being racist.

Third of all, the one dude hit the bad guy with his truck before they put the boots to him.

I am all for that sort of thing.

 

Me too, but the story would have been perfect if it'd ended with "The suspect was announced dead at the scene."

 

Werd and Troof

 

you know, one of those "accidental" pedestrian deaths. like when, after the driver hits the guy, he puts it in reverse. and then drive. and then reverse. and then drive.

you wanna go out shootin just do us all a favor and shoot yourself

just sayin...

 

Great report, only thing missing was a fitting of concrete boots.
See in Aust, the only people carrying guns are cops and crims and the odd rec shooter. They set up a massive gun amnesty about 10 years ago and destroyed thousands of guns. Dont know if it helped, chokings have gone through the roof!

 

so because he tried to murder someone, it is then morally ok for the men that had already stopped him to murder him?

 

dont get me wrong tink, they are heros, and the guy does deserve severe punishment. but from the outside looking in it sounds like they were having fun beatin up on this guy. at that point, its no longer about saving the children, it was about them enjoying their revenge.

 

Vigilantes = Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 

actually animals in the wiled only kill for food or protection