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Bend bystanders and teacher intervened during Silver Rail school shooting, police say
A pickup driver, a parent and a teacher acted during the Oct. 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School, where three students, a teacher and the 16-year-old gunman died. Police say the interventions likely prevented further loss of life.
A passerby, a parent and a Silver Rail Elementary School teacher intervened during the Oct. 15 shooting in Bend, actions that Police Chief Mike Krantz said likely prevented an even greater tragedy.
The shooting in a special education classroom left three students and a teacher dead, along with the gunman, Krantz said at a news conference Oct. 16. The suspect was identified as Griffin J. John II, 16, who had previously attended the school.
At least two drivers saw John approach the school with a gun, Krantz said. The teen threw the weapon over a fence and climbed over it to reach the campus. One driver in a pickup confronted him. John fired at the truck, hitting it at least three times, before the driver went down the street to call 911.
A second driver, the father of two Silver Rail students, followed John into the school parking lot. Krantz said the man, identified as Kaylub Giamanco, took his legally secured .40-caliber pistol and entered the school.
A teacher was already fighting with John when Giamanco reached the classroom. The teacher had thrown a cellphone at the teen and was not seriously injured, Krantz said. Giamanco then shot and killed John.
The shooting has left families and the wider community grieving. Mental health and trauma specialists have advised parents to make space for children to discuss the event, recognizing that people process grief in different ways and on different timelines.