A teacher at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, grappled on the floor with a shotgun-wielding 16-year-old who had opened fire on a special education class, killing three children aged five to 11 and a teacher. The attack ended when another teacher threw her mobile phone and tackled the teen to the ground in an attempt to disarm him, and a bystander armed with a pistol ran in and shot the attacker.
Attack Details and Casualties
The teen fired as many as 15 rounds in the classroom, police said. The suspected attacker, who used to be a student at the school, was stopped after the bystander, a father who had two girls at the school, intervened. The father had been driving past when he saw the suspect firing in the school's car park and then shooting through a window to enter the building.
After the attacker was stopped, police found about 44 more rounds of shotgun ammunition on him. Two of the four victims were identified by police at a news conference on Friday as five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert.
Victims and Family Reactions
Meghan's family said she was "compassionate and had a huge heart," adding that her goal had been to be a teacher in the district where she'd grown up. "She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs," they said. The grandfather of five-year-old Rhoam Summer, Bryan Jolly, said the family were in a state of shock following his death. His grandson was "very bright and very mischievous and very fun-loving, and totally without fear," he told the New York Times, adding: "The whole thing is senseless, and a shock."
An eight-year-old and an 11-year-old were also killed in the attack but they have not been named publicly, police said. A 54-year-old teacher and a seven-year-old student are both in hospital with injuries following the shooting. The child's condition is described as serious but stable.
Heroes and Investigation
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised the teacher and parent who stopped the shooter, saying her brave actions grappling with the teen had "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed." Both were unhurt. The suspect was named by police as 16-year-old Griffin J John II, who had been a special educational needs student at the school. Investigators are searching his home as officers try to find out how he got hold of the gun.
The hero dad who shot him was identified by his family as 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, a local carpenter. His brother told NBC news how the dad had witnessed the gunman open fire on a vehicle outside the school and then shoot through a window to gain entry. Mr Giamanco carried a legally concealed .40 calibre firearm in his vehicle and he grabbed his weapon and "decided to go in after" the suspect, his brother said.
Reactions and Aftermath
Mr Giamanco's mother, Kenda Freeman, who lives in California, told CBS news of a "traumatised" phone call her son made to her moments after the incident. "He said 'a man went into my daughter's school'," she said, "And, um, shot kids. And he said, 'and I looked at him point blank, and I shot and killed him, mum'." "I told him he saved a lot of lives," she added, "and he said, 'mum, I couldn't save them all'."
US President Donald Trump called Giamanco a "great hero," saying without his actions the shooting could have been "much worse." "It's a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it," he said. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek also praised the heroic dad for stopping further loss of life but added his actions "carry a heavy emotional burden and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well."
