Oregon Teacher Fought School Attacker Before Armed Dad Shot Suspect 'Multiple Times', Police Say

Four people were killed at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, 15 October, during an attack in which a teacher tackled the 16-year-old suspect and an armed father shot him multiple times, police said.

Police identified the suspect as Griffin J John II, a former Silver Rail pupil who had been a special educational needs student at the school. The attack took place in a classroom for pupils with special educational needs.

The victims included five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. Police said the families of the other two children, aged eight and 11, had asked for their names to remain private.

Oregon School Shooting: Teacher Tackled the Gunman

A teacher in the classroom threw her mobile phone at the suspect, tackled him and fought to take his firearm, according to the Bend Police Department's update. The department said she was not injured. Police Chief Mike Krantz said her actions 'almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.'

Police have not publicly identified the teacher. Her intervention was under way when a second driver, a 36-year-old father of pupils at the school, entered the building. He had seen the suspect's approach and gone inside after retrieving a pistol from his vehicle.

The police account distinguishes him from the first driver, who was in a red Toyota pickup. The suspect fired at that vehicle at least three times, police said. The driver continued down the street and made the first 911 call.

The father had also witnessed the shooting outside the school. He parked in the car park, retrieved a .40-calibre pistol that was legally secured in his vehicle, and entered through the doors the suspect had forced open. Inside, he saw the teacher struggling with the gunman and fired at him multiple times, police said.

The suspect had fired through the glass panes in locked double doors to get inside, then went directly into the classroom, according to police. Officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. and reported moments later that a community member had shot the suspect.

Oregon School Shooting Investigation Continues

Police said the suspect fired as many as 15 rounds during the incident. The exact number fired in the classroom remained under investigation. Officers found about 44 remaining rounds of 12-gauge ammunition on the suspect or in his backpack.

Two people were injured. A seven-year-old girl was in serious but stable condition at OHSU in Portland, while 54-year-old teacher Becky Drury had serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was being treated at St Charles Bend, police said. The department named Drury in its updated release.

Investigators were still trying to establish how the suspect obtained the shotgun and travelled to the school. Police said he was believed to have arrived on foot, but his route remained under investigation. They had not established a motive.

The armed father was not named by police. His mother, Kenda Freeman, identified him as Kaylub Giamanco in an interview with CBS Sacramento. Police described him only as a 36-year-old father whose children attended the school.

Freeman told the station that her son called her after the shooting. She said he told her, 'Mom, I couldn't save them all.' His identity remains attributed to his mother, rather than confirmed by police.