A TEACHER fought back against a teenage gunman who killed four people at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon throwing her phone at him before tackling him in an attempt to stop the attack, police said.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described the teacher’s actions as “heroic” during a news conference on Friday, saying she was not injured in the confrontation.
AP reported on Saturday that the attacker, identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, was a former special needs student at Silver Rail Elementary School and targeted a classroom attended by children with special needs, authorities said.
John fired as many as 15 rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was shot dead by Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two pupils at the school.
“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” Krantz said. “We may never get that full answer, but we want it.”
Investigators are working to establish how the teenager obtained the pump-action shotgun. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that the weapon was purchased by his mother.
The attack killed three children, aged five, eight and 11, and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert, police said.
A seven-year-old child was injured and received lifesaving treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital. Another teacher, 54-year-old Becky Drury, was shot in the arm and hand and was recovering from surgery.
Police said the first emergency call came from a driver who saw the teenager throw his gun over a fence outside the school before climbing over it on Thursday afternoon.
The driver shouted at the teenager, who fired at his truck three times. The driver was not injured.
Giamanco subsequently saw the gunman shooting at the truck and heading towards the school. After the teenager fired through locked doors to enter the building, Giamanco parked, retrieved his .40-calibre pistol and followed him inside.
He found the gunman wrestling with the teacher and shot him several times, police said.
In a statement read to reporters, Giamanco’s mother, Kenda Freeman, confirmed that her son was the person who shot the attacker. She said he was not seeking recognition and was grateful for the support shown to first responders, school staff and the community.
Meanwhile, the gunman’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, expressed sorrow over the deaths, saying she wished she could have prevented the attack.
“I miss my boy,” she said, breaking down in tears, according to The New York Times and CNN.
“I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss.”
Nickerson previously told local broadcaster KTVZ in a 2020 interview that her son had participated in a special needs programme run by the school district to help children facing significant behavioural and social challenges.
Krantz said authorities were still investigating the motive for the shooting and how the teenager obtained the firearm.
The shooting prompted the cancellation of classes and other activities at schools across Bend on Friday, while flowers, balloons and stuffed animals were placed at memorials near Silver Rail Elementary.
The attack was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
US President Donald Trump praised Giamanco for intervening, calling him a “great hero” and saying the outcome could have been much worse without his actions.
“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Silver Rail Elementary serves pupils from kindergarten to fifth grade and had about 450 students enrolled last year. - October 17, 2026