A campus supervisor testified Tuesday about her encounter with a gunman during the Kelly Elementary School shooting, according to the North County Times.
Lysette Cox, 46, recalled the barrel of a gun pointed at her chest about three feet away from her. It clicked twice, but fired no bullets, the paper reported.
"I backed away and went toward the middle of the blacktop," said Cox. "I told the kids to 'Run! (Expletive) run!' "
On Oct. 8, police say Brendan O'Rourke, 41, armed himself with a .357-magnum revolver, jumped a fence and opened fire toward a crowded playground.
Two girls, ages 6 and 7, were each shot in an arm. Prosecutors say O'Rourke also fired at three young boys but missed. A shell casing got stuck in O'Rourke's gun, preventing him from reloading the weapon, according to a deputy district attorney.
Construction workers building a school cafeteria chased the gunman and held him until police arrived.
O’Rourke pleaded not guilty to seven counts of attempted murder and seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He faces 103 years in prison if convicted of all charges, according to prosecutors. Bail was set at $10 million.
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Carlsbad police said the walls of O'Rourke's apartment in Oceanside were painted with the words "destroy" and "Christian," and other writing indicated he was angry with the insurance companies AIG and State Farm.
O'Rourke worked as a phone or computer technician at NTN Communications, a video entertainment firm in Carlsbad that installs games and video equipment in bars and restaurants, police Lt. Kelly Cain said.
Oceanside police records show officers were dispatched to O'Rourke's apartment three times last year over noise complaints. Each time he refused to answer the door and the noise stopped.
