Five-Year-Old Rhoam Summer Identified as Youngest Victim in Oregon School Shooting
The father of Rhoam Summer, one of three children killed at Silver Rail Elementary School, described the day as the 'worst day of my life' as the community mourns.
The youngest victim of a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, has been identified as five-year-old Rhoam Summer. His father, Kelik Summer, announced the loss on social media, calling Thursday the "worst day of my life."
Rhoam was among three children and a teacher who were fatally shot by a 16-year-old gunman. The unidentified shooter was killed by a bystander. Two other individuals, a seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher, sustained critical injuries and remain hospitalized.
A Meal Train fundraiser organized for the Summer family had already raised over $23,000 by Friday morning. The description for the fundraiser spoke of "unimaginable tragedy" and the "heartbreaking loss of their sweet 5-year-old son, Rhoam."
One mother in the community paid tribute to Rhoam, stating, "Rhoam was a wonderful friend to my boys, and to our whole family. He was precious and full of pure love."
The shooter, whose identity and motive have not yet been released, reportedly approached the school with a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother. A bystander in a pickup truck noticed the teenager with the weapon and confronted him. The gunman fired at the vehicle before reportedly throwing the gun over the school fence and entering the building. Another individual then confronted the shooter inside the school and fatally shot him.
Photos of the Toyota pickup truck showed bullet holes on the passenger-side door and near the front, with the rear passenger-side window shattered. The incident began shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to dispatch logs.