San Bernardino teacher is fatally shot at park; police seek gunman

A gunman who shot and killed a middle school teacher as she sat in her truck with her 5-year-old son and boyfriend at a San Bernardino park over the weekend remained at large Sunday, according to police.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting at Delmann Heights Park near the intersection of 30th and Flores streets about 2 a.m. Saturday, according to the San Bernardino Police Department. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the wounded victim.

Nancy Magaña, 24, of San Bernardino, was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries, authorities said.

Police did not provide any other details about the shooting.

Maria Magaña, 29, said Sunday that her sister had spent the evening with her son and boyfriend at a Dave and Busters restaurant. The couple had driven to the park to hang out and were sitting in her truck when the gunman walked up to the vehicle and opened fire, she said.

Magaña said she and her family are perplexed by the shooting.

“This came out of nowhere,” she said.

Police said they haven’t determined a motive and are continuing their investigation.

Since the shooting, Magaña said she’s heard from a lot of people who cared about her sister, including neighbors, teachers, former co-workers, people who played soccer with her.

Magaña described her sister as an intelligent, kind and a loving mother who worked at Del Vallejo Middle School as a math teacher and volleyball coach. She said she had just started her first teaching job two weeks ago.

Magaña said her sister wanted to teach middle school students because she felt she could have the greatest impact on young kids by motivating, inspiring and helping them realize their potential.

“Imagine how many kids she could have reached?” Magaña said. “The amount of lives [impacted] are uncounted.”

Magaña said her sister always saw the light humor in things. She had a witty sense of humor and loved to laugh. One birthday, the family got her a cake with a popular math joke that read “Friend’s don’t let friends divide by zero.”

“She thought it was the funniest thing in the world,” Magaña said.

She said her sister was generous and never hesitated to help or provide financial assistance to anyone who needed it even if she was down to her last dollar. She was athletic and enjoyed playing soccer.

But at the core of Nancy’s world was her son. The mother and son would always do things together, going to the beach, Disneyland or visiting national parks. Maria Magaña said they were planning on going to the Grand Canyon this year.

And then there were birthday parties for her son. Last year, Nancy had a circus- and carnival-themed party for her son and the year before that was a “Toy Story”-themed party that included a small mechanical bull.

It hadn’t been easy for the single mother. She worked countless of hours studying, always balancing her school, work and family life.

“She lived paycheck to paycheck, going to school and finishing her teaching credential,” Magaña said. “This is why we’re so distraught.

“She meant a lot to so many people.”