SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Students returning to North Park Elementary School on Monday will be greeted with thousands of teddy bears to help them heal from the deadly shooting that happened in a classroom.
A Cal State San Bernardino worker, Stacy Brooks, decided to organize a teddy bear drive after hearing about the shooting that left a student and his teacher dead.
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Brooks wanted to collect 500 stuffed animals so she sent out an email to her colleagues and friends. Word spread about the drive and Brooks ended up with two rooms full of bears - 3,000 to be exact.
School will be back in session on Monday, one week after Karen Smith, a special education teacher, was murdered by her estranged husband, Cedric Anderson. Anderson had said he needed to drop something off for Smith and was allowed on the campus.
Anderson then opened fire on Smith's classroom, killing her and shooting two students who were near her at the time. Jonathan Martinez, 8, died at the hospital. Nolan Brandy, 9, survived the shooting and was released from the hospital Friday.
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After killing Smith and Martinez, Anderson reloaded his revolver and turned the weapon on himself.
Authorities closed down the school for the rest of the week to help families cope with the tragedy and to gather more evidence in their investigation.
Hundreds of stuffed animals are shown after people donated the toys as part of a drive to help the students affected in the San Bernardino school shooting. (KABC)