Here's the latest
• Community in mourning: Police say a 16-year-old gunman killed three children and a teacher Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Another child and teacher were hospitalized. All the victims were shot in one special needs classroom, police said.
• Heroic actions: A father of two students saw the gunman and followed him into the school, fatally shooting him to stop the attack, officials said. Police commended the man’s heroism and the actions of a teacher who tackled the shooter and fought to disarm him.
• What we know about the shooter: The teen previously attended special needs classes at Silver Rail, according to investigators. Authorities have searched the gunman’s home but a potential motive remains under investigation. “I’m so sorry,” the boy’s mother told CNN.
• Grim total: This is the 36th shooting on K-12 school grounds across the United States this year, according to a CNN data analysis.
Updates
(68)The school held a lockdown drill two weeks before shooting, superintendent says
Silver Rail Elementary School practiced a lockdown drill about two weeks before the deadly shooting, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said Friday.
“Every school practices lockdown drills twice a year,” Cook said in a press conference.
Four School Resource Officers (SROs) were present during Silver Rail’s recent drill, he said.
The SRO was not at the school when the shooting happened. “That SRO oversees six or seven schools, and so was at a nearby school,” Sheila Miller, communications manager for the Bend Police Department said earlier.
Cook said the school district will begin an investigation into its emergency response procedures, safety planning and other aspects related to the shooting.
The school district recently upgraded its door-locking system and had multiple security measures in place.
Mourners lay flowers, toys and write messages of love outside elementary school
A makeshift memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary School is growing in tribute to the victims of the deadly shooting.
Bouquets of colorful flowers, candles, toys and heart-shaped balloons have been placed by the monument sign near the entrance to the school.
Well-wishers have written messages of love and support in chalk on the sidewalk.
Nearby, a giant plushie bear with a T-shirt reading “Free Hugs” sits next to a sign that says “it’s OK to need one.”
Several mourners stood in front of the memorial this afternoon to pay their respects to the victims.
Pickup struck several times by bullets before fatal school shooting
Video shows a red Toyota pickup riddled with bullet holes Thursday near Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said Friday that a red pickup truck was fired upon after the driver verbally confronted the suspect who was climbing a fence into the school grounds before the shooting.
“The suspect fired at the pickup, striking it at least three times,” Krantz said. “After the red pickup was fired upon, the driver continued down the street and made the initial 911 call.”
The driver was not injured, officials said.
In the video, a man is shown pointing out where bullet holes struck the vehicle as police sirens wail in the background.
How the deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School unfolded
Students and staff members at Silver Rail Elementary School were reportedly set to have picture day in the scenic city of Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, when the driver of a Toyota pickup truck saw someone approach the school fence.
The witness then saw the individual cross the street, throw his weapon over the fence and climb it to enter the school, said Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz at a news conference today. The driver of the truck then “verbally confronted” the suspect, who fired at the pickup at least three times before the driver drove off and called 911 at 12:59 p.m., Krantz said.
The driver reported being shot at multiple times by a suspect with a long gun, Krantz said. Moments later, dozens of 911 calls said a shooter had entered the building of the school.
Law enforcement officers responding to the scene then directed the school to go into lockdown at 1:01 p.m., a minute before the first officers arrived, Krantz said.
After forcing entry into the school by firing multiple rounds into the glass panes of an external set of double doors, the shooter turned left and went directly into a special needs classroom where he fired up to 15 rounds, police said.
During the shooting, one teacher — who was not injured — took “heroic action” to try to stop the gunman, throwing her cellphone at the shooter and tackling him in an attempt to get the gun away from him, the police chief said.
A bystander “heard shooting and saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect” and pursued him through the “forced open” school doors, Krantz said. The bystander, praised by officials for his heroism, engaged the shooter in gunfire and killed him, police said.
Three minutes after the first 911 call was made, police officers arrived and entered the building, confirming the suspect was dead.
Officers and medics on scene attempted life-saving care on one boy at the scene, police said. Two other children, both boys, and a teacher were already dead when officers arrived, police said.
Three children, aged 5, 8 and 11, and one teacher were killed, police said. A 7-year-old child and another teacher were also injured and transferred to a hospital, according to officials. All of the victims were shot inside the same classroom, police said.
The bystander was identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two students at the school, who struck the suspect multiple times and killed him with a 40-caliber pistol “legally secured in his vehicle,” Krantz said.
After authorities arrived on scene, they found the shooter had approximately 44 remaining rounds of 12-gauge ammunition on him or in his backpack, Krantz said. The suspect used a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun in the attack, he said.
The shooter was identified by police on Thursday as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, who was a special needs student at the school.
Gun laws "don't go far enough," Democratic lawmaker who represents Bend says
The prevalence of school shootings in America should prompt a conversation about “responsible gun ownership,” Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum of Oregon said.
It comes after three children and one teacher were killed after a gunman opened fire in a special needs classroom in Bend. Bynum, who represents Bend, said the community “feels very heavy” in the wake of the tragedy, but it “also feels very preventable.”
The lawmaker said Americans need to rethink who can have a gun and how to intervene when there is an indication the gun is “in the hands of the wrong people” or there is a mental health concern. Police said a potential motive, including any warning signs, is under investigation.
“The laws don’t go far enough, fast enough for us to be able to intervene,” Bynum said.
In this case there was also a law-abiding gun owner who stopped the attack. A father saw the gunman and followed him into the school, fatally shooting him, authorities said. Bynum praised the man’s courage but said the burden should not be on community members to keep kids safe.
“We have to stop allowing our children to be shredded in schools, grocery stores, parks, churches. We have to stop this violence,” she said.
"Hundreds" have shown up for crisis counseling, district superintendent says
“Hundreds” of community members have shown up to receive crisis counseling following Thursday’s deadly shooting, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said.
“In the days ahead, we are focused primarily on crisis response and support to everyone in our community and to anyone who’s seeking help,” Cook said.
Deschutes County Health Services, in collaboration with the school district and St. Charles Health System, are hosting free walk-in community support events at local libraries in the wake of the shooting.
“We will continue to provide access for this community,” Cook added.
7-year-old and teacher critically injured in shooting are hospitalized
A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher are receiving treatment at local hospitals after being critically injured at the school shooting in Bend, Oregon, police said today.
The child, who has not been identified, had received first aid at the scene and is now in “serious but stable condition” at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference today.
The educational assistant in the special education department, identified as Becky Drury, suffered “serious but non-life-threatening injuries” and is being hospitalized at St. Charles Bend, Krantz said.
Three children and a teacher were killed in the shooting Thursday, according to authorities.
Teacher killed in shooting "loved Silver Rail" and her students, family says
Megan Lambert, a 25-year-old teacher who was killed in the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting yesterday, “loved those children” and being an educator, her family said in a statement.
“Her goal was to be an educator and teach in the school district she loved growing up in,” the family said in a statement read at a news conference today.
The family described her as a “compassionate” person with a “huge heart” who “always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.”
Lambert was an Oregon native who grew up in Bend, graduated from Mountain View High School in 2019 and from Boise State in 2023, her family said. She also traveled to Barcelona, Spain, for an English teacher training school. She was a substitute teacher at Silver Rail before becoming a full-time teacher there.
“She loved Silver Rail; this was her dream job,” the family said.
Lambert was passionate about sports and had been a volleyball coach, her family said. She turned down pay her first season as a coach to help families who couldn’t afford to participate.
Lambert’s family says she was “funny and opinionated, and she lit up the room.”
The latest on the investigation into deadly Oregon elementary school shooting
Police and school officials just gave an update on the latest information from their investigation into the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School, which left at least three kids and one teacher dead.
Big questions still remain, including any potential motive.
Here’s the latest:
- Victims: Authorities identified two of the victims as 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and Megan Lambert, a teacher. All of the victims were inside a special needs classroom that included students of mixed ages, according to Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook. The identities of the other two boys who were killed will not be released at the request of their families, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
- Gunman: The shooter was identified by police as Griffin J. John II. He was previously a special needs student at the school, Cook said. But, officials could not confirm whether he had been a student in that particular classroom.
- The weapon: The shooter had a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, Krantz said, and about 44 remaining rounds of 12-gage ammunition. The gun had been purchased by his mother, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN earlier today.
- How the shooting unfolded: The shooter had approached the campus, dropped the shotgun over a fence, then climbed over, according to Krantz. A witness in a pickup truck verbally confronted the suspect when he saw him climbing into the school before the suspect fired at the driver, Krantz said.
- Inside the school: The suspect forced his way into the school by firing multiple rounds into the glass panes of an external set of double doors, Krantz said. He turned left and went directly into a classroom, where he fired up to 15 rounds, the chief said.
- “Hero” bystander and teacher: A 36-year-old man, previously identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, followed the gunman into the school with a 40-caliber pistol he had legally. He went into a classroom and shot the gunman “multiple times,” Krantz said. Before this happened, a teacher also threw her cellphone at the shooter, tackled him and attempted to fight away the gun, the chief said.
- Investigative efforts: The shooter’s parents were interviewed on Thursday and were cooperative with investigators, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN. A search warrant was executed on the shooter’s home Thursday, according to the source. Police are still investigating a potential motive in the shooting, including if there were any mental health concerns or warning signs, Krantz said.
- School district response: The district will begin an investigation into its emergency response procedures, safety planning and other aspects related to the shooting at the school as soon as they are allowed to by law enforcement, Cook said.
CNN’s Emma Tucker, Maria Aguilar Prieto, Andi Babineau, Dalia Faheid and John Miller contributed reporting.
What we know about the Silver Rail Elementary shooter
The teenager who opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday, killing three students and a teacher inside a single classroom, has been identified as Griffin J. John II, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz announced at a news conference Friday.
The shooter used a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun in the attack, Krantz said. The gun had been purchased by his mother, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN earlier Friday.
He had about 44 remaining rounds of 12-gage ammunition, Krantz said.
The shooter had approached the campus, dropped the shotgun over a fence, then climbed over and forced his way into the building, opening fire inside the classroom, according to Krantz.
The shooter’s mother spoke to CNN off camera from her balcony, but would not comment on how her son got access to the weapon. Investigators say that is still under investigation.
“I miss my boy. I’m so sorry,” the woman said as she cried and smoked a cigarette.
And in a message to the families of those killed, she said, “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss.”
The shooter’s parents were interviewed on Thursday and were cooperative with investigators, the official told CNN earlier Friday. The teen had attended the elementary school, though no clear motive for the shooting has been uncovered, authorities said Friday.
The shooter was previously a special needs student at the school and the shooting occurred in the special needs classroom, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said. During the pandemic, his mother spoke with CNN affiliate KTVZ about how she hopes the in-person classes for special needs kids will resume. The program is described as being for kids with “intensive behavioral and social skills challenges.”
CNN has reached out to the program for comment.
A search warrant was executed on the shooter’s home Thursday, with investigators recovering computers and other electronic devices. Additional warrants have been obtained to retrieve data from the devices, according to the source.
CNN’s Nick Watt and Norma Galeana contributed reporting.
Family of teacher injured in shooting expresses gratitude for outpouring of support
The teacher who was shot and injured at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, yesterday has been identified as Becky Drury, 54, an educational assistant in the special education department, family spokesperson Zack Hall said.
“We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support, prayers, and well-wishes following yesterday’s tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary,” Drury’s husband, Will Drury, said in a statement.
The family asked for privacy and is declining interviews at this time, according to the statement and the family spokesperson.
“We ask that you continue to hold everyone affected by this tragedy in your thoughts,” the statement concluded.
District still reviewing why gunman was able to breach doors, superintendent says
It is not yet clear why the shooter was able to bypass security measures at Silver Rail Elementary School before the deadly shooting, the district’s superintendent said.
Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook told reporters he couldn’t say “with confidence” how the gunman got through the doors, but the district is going to do “a lot of reviewing of our procedures.”
All schools in the Bend-La Pine Schools district are equipped with “secure vestibules” at the entrance of each of its buildings and a classroom door locking system, according to the school district’s website.
But Chief Mike Krantz of the Bend Police Department said during today’s news conference that the shooter was able to breach the building by shooting multiple rounds into glass panes in an external set of double doors.
All shooting victims were in a mixed-age special needs classroom, superintendent says
All of the victims who were shot at Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday were inside a special needs classroom that included students of mixed ages, said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook.
The shooter was also a former special needs student at the school, said Cook.
Officials could not confirm whether the shooter had been a student in that particular classroom in the school, said Sheila Miller, communications manager for the Bend Police Department.
5-year-old boy identified among those killed in shooting
Rhoam Summer, 5, has been identified by authorities as one of the children killed in the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School.
Authorities will not be releasing the identities of the other two child victims at the request of their families, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
Police chief: Motive and any warning signs in Oregon shooting still under investigation
The motive behind the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School is still under investigation, including if there were any mental health concerns or warning signs, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz.
“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” Krantz said, referring to a motive.
The chief said uncovering that information is part of the ongoing investigation, and he warned that it will take time.
“We may never get that full answer, but we want it,” he said.
School district to probe emergency response procedures, safety plans, superintendent says
Silver Rail Elementary’s school district will begin an investigation into its emergency response procedures, safety planning and other aspects related to the shooting at the school as soon as they are allowed to by law enforcement, said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook.
Bend-La Pine Schools “has invested heavily in school safety, secure entries, door locks, security cameras, security fencing,” said Cook, adding it has a partnership with the county sheriff’s office and the police department.
Students and staff are required to practice lockdowns twice a year at every school in the district, Cook said, adding: “We train with law enforcement and emergency responders every year.”
Shooter had 44 remaining rounds of ammunition, Bend police chief says
After authorities arrived on scene, they found the shooter had approximately 44 remaining rounds of 12-gauge ammunition on him or in his backpack, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
"Hero" father struck shooter "multiple times," police chief says
The 36-year-old man, previously identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, who killed the Silver Rail Elementary school shooter struck the suspect “multiple times,” Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said during a news conference Friday afternoon.
Giamanco had a 40-caliber pistol “legally secured in his vehicle” and pursued the suspect through the “forced open” school doors, Krantz said.
The man “heard shooting and saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect,” according to Krantz.
Giamanco went into the classroom “and fired his weapon, striking the suspect multiple times,” Krantz said.
Teacher tackled shooter and tried to fight away the gun, police chief says
During the shooting, one teacher took “heroic action” to try to stop the gunman, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
A teacher in a classroom threw her cellphone at the shooter and then tackled him, trying to get the gun away, Krantz said.
The teacher was not hurt in the incident, “but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” the chief said.
Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook also thanked the teacher and the man who followed the shooter into the school and ultimately stopped him.
“Thank you both for intervening on behalf of our students. I believe your actions saved lives,” Cook said.
Bend Police Chief describes witness in pickup verbally confronting shooter
A witness in a pickup truck verbally confronted the suspect when he saw him climbing into the school before the suspect fired at the driver multiple times, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference today.
At around 1 p.m. Thursday, two cars were driving near Silver Rail Elementary School when the suspect approached the school fence “from an undeveloped area,” Krantz said. The suspect then crossed the street, threw his weapon over the fence and climbed it to enter the school.
The driver of a red Toyota pickup truck witnessed this and “verbally confronted” the suspect, Krantz said. The suspect fired at the pickup at least three times before the driver continued down the street and made the initial 911 call.
