Teacher Tackles Oregon School Shooter, Parent Neutralizes Threat
A heroic teacher’s intervention and a parent’s quick action stopped a 16-year-old gunman armed with a shotgun at Silver Rail Elementary School.
A teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, intervened to disarm a student gunman on Thursday, subsequently being engaged by a parent who fatally shot the assailant. The incident occurred when 16-year-old Griffin J. John II entered a special education classroom armed with a Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun.
According to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz, the teacher, whose name has not been released, threw her cellphone at John and tackled him in an effort to wrestle away his firearm. Krantz commended the teacher's actions, stating that while she was not injured, her intervention “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.”
During the confrontation between the teacher and the shooter, Kaylub Giamanco, identified as a parent, entered the classroom. Giamanco, armed with a 40-caliber pistol, observed the struggle and fired his weapon, striking John multiple times and killing him.
John had fired at least 15 shots within the classroom, utilizing birdshot, buckshot, and slugs. The shooting resulted in the deaths of three students, identified as 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, an 8-year-old, and an 11-year-old, as well as 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. A makeshift memorial has been established outside the school.