A 36-year-old parent, Kaylub Giamanco, shot and killed a 16-year-old gunman after the teenager entered Silver Rail Elementary and opened fire, officials said.
Police identified the shooter as Griffin J John II, a former student who had been enrolled in special education. Authorities said he climbed a fence, climbed onto the school property and shot through locked entrance doors to gain access to the building around 1 p.m.
The shooter beelined to a special education classroom and fired as many as 15 rounds, using three types of ammunition, police said. All of the known fatalities were inside that room and included teacher Megan Lambert and three children. One of the children killed was identified as five-year-old Rhoam Summer. Two other students killed were reported as eight and 11 years old and have not been publicly named.
Officials said a seven-year-old remained in serious condition and 54-year-old educator Becky Drury was seriously injured but expected to survive. Police recovered 44 additional rounds of ammunition in the shooter s backpack.
Witnesses said Lambert threw her phone at the attacker and then tackled him as she tried to disarm him. A parent who heard gunfire and drove by saw an educator in a scuffle with the shooter and intervened, fatally wounding the teen, police reported.
Authorities executed a search warrant at the shooter s home and collected evidence. Two senior law enforcement officials told a broadcaster that the shooter s mother, identified in public records as Shauntai Nickerson, purchased the long gun around his birthday in August. Other officials said the mother has cooperated with investigators. Police have not publicly identified a motive.
Community Response And Wider Context
Local officials and residents held vigils and left flowers, stuffed animals and notes outside the school. Hundreds gathered in a candlelit vigil at Drake Park to grieve and support families, police said.
Oregon governor Tina Kotek and Bend mayor Melanie Kebler attended public memorials, according to reporting. Bend police chief Mike Krantz thanked those who intervened and school staff for following lockdown and reunification protocols, saying the community owed them a debt of gratitude.
Authorities closed all schools in Bend and in neighboring La Pine. Reporting noted the attack was the deadliest school shooting since a September 2024 mass killing at Apalachee High School in Georgia and highlighted concern about recent attacks carried out by teenagers, sometimes linked to online communities that praise prior shooters.
Investigators continue to gather evidence and have not announced further charges or a motive as they work through search results and witness accounts, officials said.
