Carlsbad school gunman gets 189 years in prison

A 42-year-old former security guard was sentenced Friday essentially to life in prison for a shooting spree at an elementary school in Carlsbad that wounded two students.

Brendan O'Rourke had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the Oct. 8, 2010 attack at Kelly Elementary School. But in March, a jury in the Vista branch of San Diego County Superior Court convicted him of seven counts of attempted murder and ruled that he was sane.

Two students were wounded in the attack before construction workers tackled O'Rourke. O'Rourke had jumped the school fence during the noontime recess and began firing randomly with a .357 Magnum while shouting hysterically.

Judge Aaron Katz sentenced O'Rourke to 189 years in prison.

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Photo: Brendan O'Rourke. Credit: Associated Press