Opening Statements Begin in the Kelly School Shooting Trial

Deputy District Attorney Summer Stephan started the opening statements telling the jury, "the defendant carried out a planned terrorist attack."

The defendant is , 42. He is accused of jumping a fence at Oct. 8, 2010 during the lunch time recess and , wounded two young girls in the arms.

O'Rourke has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to seven felony counts each of premeditated attempted murder and assault with a firearm. If convicted, O'Rourke faces up to 103 years to life in prison. If O'Rourke is found guilty, jurors will then have to decide whether or not he was sane at the time of the shootings. Unlike the guilt phase of trial, the burden of proof will be on the defense to prove O'Rourke was insane. Defense attorney Dan Segura said four doctors, two appointed by the court, found that his client suffered from severe mental illness.

Segura told the jury, "this case is going to have a lot of emotions, keep an open mind. Pay attention to all details you here.”

In the first day of the trial at the Vista courthouse, the first witness called to the stand was one of the two young girls shot in the arm. At the time she was in the second grade and 7-years-old. She explained what is was like to be shot in the arm and recalled, "I saw a man on the field who didn’t look familiar." The other girl wounded in the rampage, who was six at the time, also took the stand as a witness as well as other students who were on the playground at the time.

Stephan explained to the jury that, "O'Rourke arrived at the planned hour of 12:10 p.m. because that is when the most students are out at lunch." She told the jury he came with a "powerful revolver, loaded with six shots." Stephan added that he carried three speed loaders, and special ammunition that when fired into an individual has the "ability to mushroom inside them."

"He also had a 15-pound propane tank, a five gallon gas can and long matches," said Stephan, "that combination with a firearm can make a powerful bomb with a sizable explosion 20-50 ft around it” Stephan told the jury that O'Rourke fumbled to reload his revolver. She said it was later discovered to have jammed, "there was a fired casing stuck in the barrel. So it wouldn’t reload."

Stephan explained that the stuck casing saved lives. She told the jury, "A noon aide confronted O'Rourke asking, 'what the heck are you doing?' He put a gun to her stomach and pulled the trigger, but he was out of bullets."

During the shooting at Kelly Elementary, Stephan said the noon aides were yelling at the students to "run run!" She said, "O’Rourke proceeded after the students running towards the classrooms. He would point and aim at level of children into group of 15-20 children. Six shots were fired.”

helped take down the shooter. One jumped in his truck and hit the shooter allowing the other two construction workers to tackle the man. 

–City News Service contributed 

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