A former mental patient shot and killed a 10-year-old girl and critically wounded two other children here this afternoon, before being killed in a gun battle with a police officer, authorities said. The officer was also wounded, but not critically.

The police said the former patient, George Proctor, 60 years old, of 286 Watchung Avenue in West Orange, had been upset because some teen-agers had thrown a rock at a 1983 Cadillac he had bought recently.

The identity of the dead girl, who had been shot in the head, was being withheld until relatives could be notified.

The two children who were wounded were identified as Joshua Valese, 12, of 280 Watchung Avenue and Kareem Davis, 8, of 268 Watchung Avenue. The police said both were also shot in the head. They were taken to University Hospital in Newark, where they were listed in critical condition. Fights With Teen-Agers.

The shooting spree began shortly before 2:30 P.M. in this Essex County community about 13 miles west of New York City. Minutes earlier, as Mr. Proctor drove along Alden Street in Orange toward his home, which was near the West Orange border, two youths threw a rock at the Cadillac, Chief Edward M. Palardy of the West Orange Police said.

Chief Palardy said Mr. Proctor got out of his car and one of the youths punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground.

The identities of the youths were not released.

Mr. Proctor got back into his car and drove to his apartment, where he picked up a silver-plated .32-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and numerous bullets, Chief Palardy said.

He walked down one flight of stairs to an apartment on the first floor, where a woman identified as Marion Anello was visiting. Gun Fails to Fire.

The police said Mr. Proctor opened the door and demanded to know which one of her children had hit him in the face. But, the police said, the youth who had hit Mr. Proctor did not live in the apartment.

Mr. Proctor then tried three times to fire his gun at Miss Anello, but the gun did not fire, the police said. He reloaded and tried to shoot her 2-year-old son but again the gun did not fire, they said.

At about that time, the 10-year-old girl, who also did not live in the apartment, walked in the apartment door. Mr. Proctor fired once, hitting her, before he left the apartment. She was taken to University Hospital where she died about 10 P.M.

Outside the building, Mr. Proctor continued shooting. The police said he walked to an alley behind the building , where he encountered Joshua Valese riding a bicyle. Mr. Proctor fired once, wounding the 12-year-old, then began walking along Watchung Avenue.

Near Alden Street, Mr. Proctor saw Kareem Davis, the 8-year-old, standing on the sidewalk. He fired another shot, wounding him. Officer In Stable Condition.

Charles Cobbertt, the Police Director in Orange, said that about the time Mr. Proctor had arrived at his apartment, the police in Orange were called about the fistfight he had had with the youths. Officer Thomas Smith of the Orange Police Department responded to the call.

At Alden Street and Watchung Avenue, Mr. Proctor approached Officer Smith's patrol car and fired four times, hitting the car each time.

The police said Mr. Proctor then reloaded his gun and when Officer Smith ordered him to drop it, fired another shot, grazing the officer in the forehead. The officer managed to shoot back and wounded Mr. Proctor in the chest.

Chief Palardy said that despite his wound, Mr. Proctor kept walking toward the officer.

Officer Smith fired several more times, mortally wounding Mr. Proctor, who was taken to East Orange General Hospital. He was pronounced dead about 4:30 P.M.

Officer Smith was admitted to Orange Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition last night. 'Some Kind of Disaster.'

''It looks like some kind of disaster in there,'' Chief Palardy said shortly after the police arrived on the scene. ''A man appears to have gone berserk and started shooting.''

At a news conference later, the Chief said Mr. Proctor had been employed as a maintenance man at Union County College in Union, N.J.

Chief Palardy reported that members of Mr. Proctor's family said he had been hospitalized in a mental institution for nine years but they did not know when he had been released.

He said Mr. Proctor had been despondent since the death of his sister in Atlanta last Saturday.

After the shooting, the police found 16 bullets on the ground near Mr. Proctor's body. Several Bibles Found.

At his apartment they found several Bibles, the police said. Another Bible that Mr. Proctor apparently had torn after the rock-throwing incident was found near his car.

''The person that was involved, for whatever reason, became very antagonistic when he returned home this afternoon,'' said Mayor Samuel Spina of West Orange.

A witness, Robert Gress, who lives across an intersection from the scene, said he was playing Solitaire in his home shortly before 3 P.M. when he heard gunfire that ''sounded like firecrackers.''

He said he saw a police car pull up to the corner and the gunman start shooting at the cruiser.

Mr. Gress went to telephone the police and when he returned to the window, the gunman was lying on the ground. Increase in Crime Cited.

Another neighbor, who would identify himself only as Jimmy, said he knew Mr. Proctor as a hard worker who always dressed neatly.

''It would take an awful lot for him to be provoked like that,'' he said.

The Associated Press reported that other residents said crime in the neighborhood had worsened, with older residents forced to live in fear of drug-related violence.

''The young teen-agers are jumping people all the time,'' Deidra Biggest, a 25-year-old resident who has lived in the area for eight months, was quoted as saying. ''Houses are getting robbed and cars are getting stolen.''

''It's getting worse all the time,'' said 26-year-old Michael Gorham, who has lived in the area for six months. ''It's crazy out there.''

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“Reach Back with One Hand and Pull Someone Else Up With You.”

– Charles C. Cobbertt

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