3 kids struck by car near OC elementary school; incendiary device found inside suspect’s car: police

Police say a car drove onto a sidewalk and struck several children, who were taken to the hospital.

Investigators say 26-year-old Jason Guzman trespassed into Taft Elementary School and was escorted off campus before he allegedly ran down three children on the sidewalk. He was arrested moments later after stabbing himself in the stomach.

A resident said she heard a loud crash, and neighbors were shocked to see a large knife in the suspect’s car. The suspect was taken to a hospital with a self-inflicted knife wound.

Santa Ana police discovered a suspicious incendiary device in a suspect’s car and called the bomb squad. The school was on lockdown for three hours as they worked to clear the campus and ensure no devices were left behind.

Luckily there were no threats on campus, and the three kids that were later struck by Guzman’s car are expected to make full recoveries.

Staff at the school has complained to administrators in the past about a lack of a secure process for allowing visitors onto the Taft Elementary campus.

In this case, the school staff did determine that Guzman seemed under the influence or something and perhaps not all there. Shortly after, a theory confirmed when he struck the kids and stabbed himself in his car.

Following the deadly attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in December of 2012, many schools, including elementary, put in security measures and hired resource officers to help deter crazy people who might seek to commit a violent act.

In investigations into Buffalo mass shooter Peyton Gendron, it was determined that he considered attacking elementary schools, churches, and other community gathering places before he carried out his disgusting attack on a grocery store.

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