BEND, Oregon — Three children and a teacher were killed on Thursday, October 15, when a 16-year-old former student shot his way into a special education classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. A teacher inside the classroom threw her phone at the gunman and tackled him, and a father of two students at the school, who had followed the teenager inside, shot him dead — all before officers arrived. A 7-year-old girl and a second teacher were wounded.
Zark News first reported the attack in its account of the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary, with a further update on Friday in its follow-up report. Police identified the shooter and two of the victims at a news conference on Friday, October 16. This explainer pulls together what officials have confirmed, what credible reporting adds, and what investigators have not yet answered.
Why it matters
Silver Rail serves kindergarten through fifth grade, with 459 students enrolled last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education. An attack on children as young as 5, inside a locked elementary school, in a city of about 100,000, has reopened two debates at once: how a teenager obtained his mother’s shotgun and forced entry, and what role an armed bystander should play when police are minutes away. According to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database, this was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year, 21 of them shootings.
What we know
- The victims: Three boys, ages 5, 8 and 11, and their teacher were killed, Krantz said. Police identified the 5-year-old as Rhoam Summer, at his family’s request; the families of the 8- and 11-year-old boys have asked that their names not be shared. The teacher was Megan Lambert, 25, a Bend native in her first teaching job, whose family said in a statement that teaching at Silver Rail was her dream job. Police said the families of all the victims had been notified.
- The injured: A 7-year-old girl received lifesaving care at the scene and is now at OHSU in serious but stable condition, police said Friday. The wounded teacher, identified with her family’s permission as Becky Drury, 54, of Bend, has serious but non-life-threatening injuries and remains at St. Charles Bend.
- The attacker and entry: Police identified the shooter on Friday as Griffin J. John II, 16, a former Silver Rail student who had received special education services there and was not currently enrolled in the Bend-La Pine district. He traveled to the school on foot, jumped a fence, and shot his way through a side door into the special education classroom near the entrance, Krantz said. He fired as many as 15 rounds and was carrying 44 rounds of ammunition, including in a backpack.
- The weapon: Police said the gun was a Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun registered in his mother’s name. Officials told NBC News it was purchased by his mother around his 16th birthday in August. Thursday’s early reporting that the gun was a shotgun his mother had bought — first carried by the Associated Press citing an unnamed law enforcement official — has since been confirmed on the record.
- How he was stopped: The teacher in the classroom threw her phone at the gunman, tackled him and fought to take his gun, Krantz said, adding that she “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.” A second driver who had seen the teenager firing at a pickup truck outside followed him into the school with a handgun he kept legally in his car and shot him multiple times. The man’s family and multiple news outlets have identified him as Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a carpenter and father of two Silver Rail students; police have not formally named him, and his brother has said he holds a concealed-carry permit. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised the community member who, she said, heroically intervened.
- The response: The FBI’s Portland division and the ATF are assisting, along with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police. Students were reunited with families at Journey Church on South Highway 97. Bend-La Pine Schools closed all schools on Friday, October 16, and cancelled extracurricular and athletic events, Superintendent Steven Cook said. Thousands attended a vigil on Thursday evening, according to USA Today.
What we still don’t know
- Motive: Police have announced no motive and have not said why the former student targeted that classroom.
- Access to the gun: How the teenager got hold of his mother’s shotgun, and whether it was stored securely, has not been established; nor has any legal exposure for anyone else.
- The bystander, officially: Police have not formally identified the man who shot the gunman or commented on a review of his actions.
- Inside the school: The full sequence inside the classroom is still being reconstructed; police expect to process it as a crime scene through at least October 20.
- Reopening: The district has not said when Silver Rail or the district’s other schools will reopen, or what counseling will be offered.
What’s next
Investigators are treating the classroom as a crime scene through at least October 20, and the FBI has opened a tip line (1-800-CALL-FBI and fbi.gov/silverrailschool). Police must still establish a motive and the full history of the gun. For Bend-La Pine families, the immediate questions are when schools reopen, what counseling is available, and what changes follow to entry security and district firearms policy — Bend-La Pine’s board policy, adopted in 2021, bars firearms on school grounds, including for staff and concealed-carry permit holders.
Timeline
- October 15, 12:58 p.m. PT: Two vehicles pass the school as the teenager, on foot, crosses the fence. He fires on a pickup truck whose driver had confronted him; the driver calls 911 — the first call, at about 12:59 p.m., according to Krantz.
- October 15, about 1:00 p.m. PT: Multiple callers report a shooter inside the school; the school goes into lockdown at 1:01 p.m. and dispatch alerts all officers.
- October 15, 1:02 p.m. PT: Officers arrive and find the shooter already dead, killed by the father who followed him inside.
- October 15, afternoon: Police clear the school room by room; students are taken to Journey Church for reunification with families.
- October 15, evening: Krantz and Kotek brief reporters; a vigil draws thousands; the district announces Friday closures.
- October 16: All Bend-La Pine schools closed. At a news conference, police name the shooter and two victims, describe the weapon and the teacher’s intervention, and update the injured: the 7-year-old serious but stable at OHSU, teacher Becky Drury seriously injured but expected to survive.
Sources: Bend Police Department news conferences (October 15–16); the Associated Press; Reuters; USA Today; NBC News. Facts attributed to family members or single outlets are flagged as such above and will be updated as officials confirm them on the record.
