7 Hit, 2 Die as Sniper Fires at Children

A 62-year-old man described as a recluse who hated children repeatedly fired a rifle from his apartment window Saturday, killing two people--including a 9-year-old girl--and injuring five, then apparently set fire to his apartment and committed suicide as police closed in.

The shooting occurred less than three weeks after this suburb about 20 miles east of San Diego was jarred by a mass murder at a health club.

Police identified the gunman in Saturday’s violence as Gordon Newman, whose body was found burned beyond recognition in the second-floor apartment where he lived by himself.

Also killed in the shooting rampage was a 40-year-old woman. Her name was not immediately released on Saturday, nor was the identity of the slain girl.

Injured were an 18-month-old boy, who was fighting for his life Saturday night at Children’s Hospital of San Diego; a 33-year-old woman, and children ages 14, 12 and 9.

Neighbors described Newman, a stoop-shouldered man who walked with a limp, as a longtime tenant who kept to himself and complained bitterly about unruly children. The youngsters returned his dislike by teasing him unmercifully and calling him “Igor.”

“He had lots of problems with kids,” tenant Sharron Givens, 42, said. “They were very cruel and mean to him. They teased him. They threw things at him. They heckled him because he looked real funny.”

The shootings began just after 3 p.m., minutes after Newman had yelled at several children in the courtyard of the Key Largo apartments to be quiet, said Lt. Bill McClurg of the El Cajon Police Department.

Newman frequently shouted at children who played in the courtyard and parking lot below his window, neighbors said. Recently, they added, Newman’s complaints had become more frequent and belligerent.

On Saturday, he turned violent. Police estimated that he fired a total of 10 to 15 rounds in intermittent bursts.

At the first sound of gunfire, more than two dozen children and adults in the courtyard started running, witnesses said. One man ran cradling a baby in his arms, said Gabriel Fairbank, 11, who witnessed the shootings.

“It seemed just like a TV show,” Fairbank said. “When I first heard gunshots, I thought it was fireworks.”

Fairbank said he looked up to Newman’s apartment when he heard the sound of breaking glass. “He was breaking the window with the back of his gun like he was real mad,” Fairbank said.

Police said they were on the scene in minutes and also saw Newman at the window. They immediately cordoned off the area and evacuated several hundred residents. Newman did not respond when police ordered him to leave the apartment.

About 30 minutes later, witnesses saw smoke and fire coming from Newman’s apartment. When police entered, they found Newman’s body. It took firefighters more than four hours to extinguish the blaze.

El Cajon firefighters were hampered by a series of small explosions in the apartment. Police Capt. Jim Davis said the explosions, which caused no injuries, were probably caused by ammunition stockpiled in the apartment and ignited by the fire.

Police found a large-caliber handgun and a rifle, both badly burned, in Newman’s apartment.

The 40-year-old woman died at the scene, police said. The 9-year-old died at Children’s Hospital, hospital spokesman Jim Lee said.

The injured 18-month-old boy, Daniel Imbimbo, was in critical condition Saturday night with wounds to the right eye and abdomen, Lee said.

Lee said 12-year-old Alana Nguyen was fair condition with a wound in her back. And the 33-year-old woman, identified by police as Mary Gaul, suffered a gunshot wound to the hip and was in stable condition at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.

The other victims, who were less seriously hurt, were treated and released, police said.

Authorities said more than 50 people were left homeless by the blaze that began in the Newman’s apartment and spread to nine other units. A shelter was set up in a nearby church for them.

Police and medical examiners were unable to determine Saturday whether Newman died of a self-inflicted wound or was killed in the fire.

The shooting at the El Cajon health club occurred Oct. 14. James M. Buquet, 19, of Alpine gunned down four people, then killed himself.

McClurg, the El Cajon police lieutenant, said the community has never seen anything like the two violent episodes.

“As a police officer, it gives you an utter sense of helplessness,” McClurg said. “There is no way you can ever prevent people who choose to shoot other people at random. How can you possibly prevent that?

“I can’t believe this happened twice in El Cajon in the same month.”

Granberry reported from El Cajon, Blume from Los Angeles.