Teacher and Parent Stopped Oregon School Shooting That Killed Four

A teenage gunman killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on October 15. The children were 5, 8 and 11, according to The Independent.

All four victims were shot in the same classroom, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said, according to Express & Star. Investigators later said the attacker had previously attended the school and entered a classroom for students with special needs, ABCNews.com reported.

During the October 15 attack, a teacher threw her cellphone at the gunman, tackled him and fought him. Police credited her actions with saving lives, Reuters reported on October 16. The supplied coverage does not establish whether this was the teacher who died.

An armed parent then fatally shot the gunman inside the school. On October 16, CBC News reported that the man's mother identified him as the father of two girls enrolled there. The Guardian named him as Kaylub Giamanco.

Police spokesperson Sheila Miller said the attacker was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, according to Global News. That account describes the timing of the shooting, not police firing the fatal shots.

On October 16, authorities identified the attacker as a former special needs student at Silver Rail, The Hindu reported. Mint subsequently gave his name as Griffin J. John II. Some initial reports used different versions of his name.

Details about the victims also emerged on October 16. The New York Times identified the teacher as Megan Lambert and named one child as Rhoam Summer. Coverage differs on the teacher's first name: TMZ reported it as Meghan Lambert.

The motive remained unclear on October 17, according to Deutschlandfunk. Police had established the attacker's previous connection to the school, but the supplied reporting does not explain why he returned or why he attacked that classroom.

Community members have been mourning at a makeshift memorial outside the school, Al Jazeera reported. The New York Times described a community questioning its safety in the days after the killings.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek discussed her administration's response in an October 17 interview with CBS Top Stories, though the supplied summary gives no details of specific measures.

The central unanswered question is motive. Investigators are also examining the gunman's background, with Indian Express reporting that his mother had bought the weapon. The supplied coverage does not establish how he obtained access to it.

Further official accounts could clarify the sequence inside the classroom and identify everyone who intervened. Deutsche Welle reported that police praised three people for cutting short the attack, while the available summaries describe the teacher and armed parent most clearly.