Oregon School District Honors Slain Teacher, Praises Staff Courage During Attack

The Bend-La Pine School District in Oregon is mourning the loss of three young students and a teacher, Megan Lambert, who were killed in a recent mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. The district released a statement on social media expressing its heartbreak and commending the bravery of staff members who confronted the attacker.

Lambert, 25, was a special education teacher in her first year with the district. The school community remembered her as a "bright light" whose absence will be deeply felt.

Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant at the school, was injured during the attack and is recovering. The district also lauded an unnamed learning specialist for responding with "extraordinary courage" by engaging directly with the shooter, stating the district is "thankful for her safety and forever in her debt."

Community Mourns Victims and Honors Heroes

Residents gathered near Silver Rail Elementary to pay tribute to Lambert and the young victims: 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, and two other children whose families requested their names not be released. A 7-year-old girl was also injured in the shooting and is recovering.

Mourners have left flowers and messages of support at a growing memorial outside the school.

Authorities and the community have also recognized Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a father of two students at the school. Giamanco intervened when he saw the teenage gunman entering the building with a shotgun. He retrieved a pistol from his car, pursued the shooter inside, and fatally engaged him. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised Giamanco's swift action.

Krantz also highlighted an unnamed teacher who confronted the gunman directly, tackling him and throwing a cellphone, stating that her actions likely prevented further bloodshed. "She was willing to stand and fight for her children," Krantz said. "I think we all recognize that that is true heroism."