Police investigating fatal shooting at Rialto park witnessed by elementary school students
Nearly 80 elementary students from Edward Fitzgerald Elementary School on a field trip at Alec Fergusson Park in Rialto witnessed a fatal shooting Wednesday and were forced to take cover.
RELATED: Gunfire erupts as Rialto students enjoy field trip at a park
On Thursday, the last day of school, many of the students stayed home and chose not to say goodbye to their friends before summer break after witnessing the shooting.
"Even though it was nothing related to school, I guess because of things that have recently happened, there's still that fear," said a parent volunteer who was at the park Wednesday for his daughter's end of the year field trip and did not want to be identified.
He added that the kids were having a great time from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., but as the first and second graders were getting ready to return to school, gunshots erupted just feet away from the basketball courts.
Rialto Police said 22-year-old Daniel Dexter died from his injuries and an 18-year-old man remains in critical condition.
Security video showed two cars speeding away from the park moments after the shooting, and police said that no one has yet been taken into custody.
Amid all the chaos, the father said he was taken aback by how prepared the children were.
"They immediately all went down. At first, they were quiet and I was really surprised at how good they did," he said. School officials noted that the students had undergone several active shooter drills as part of their safety measures.
Fortunately, none of the children were hurt.
"Yeah, it does suck that kids have to be prepared for this, but at least they were prepared versus just freaking out," the father said.
