A 16-year-old former student opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, killing four people: three children and one teacher. Police identified the dead as five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert. Two other students, aged eight and 11, were also killed but their families requested anonymity. Two others were injured.
Police Chief Mike Krantz said an unnamed female teacher tackled the gunman inside her classroom and attempted to wrestle the weapon from him after throwing her mobile phone at him. Krantz stated the teacher "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed" and was not injured in the struggle.
The attacker, identified as Griffin J John II, a former special education student at the school, carried approximately 44 additional shotgun rounds and fired as many as 15 rounds in the classroom before being stopped.
A 36-year-old carpenter named Kaylub Giamanco, who was driving past the school when the attack began, intervened. Giamanco's family told media outlets he saw the suspect fire on a vehicle and shoot through a window to enter the building. Giamanco retrieved a legally concealed .40 calibre pistol from his vehicle and confronted the suspect inside the school. Police said he fired "multiple times," killing the gunman.
Giamanco's mother, Kenda Freeman, told CBS that her son called her after the shooting in distress. "He said 'a man went into my daughter's school' and shot kids," Freeman recalled. Giamanco told his mother: "I looked at him point blank, and I shot and killed him, mum." When Freeman told him he had saved lives, Giamanco responded: "mum, I couldn't save them all."
Krantz credited both the teacher and Giamanco with stopping further loss of life. President Trump called Giamanco a "great hero," saying the situation could have been "much worse." Oregon Governor Tina Kotek acknowledged the bystander's actions while noting they "carry a heavy emotional burden."
Police said the suspect's motive remains unclear. They are investigating how he acquired the gun and his exact movements before arriving at the school.