Griffin J. John II fired 15 rounds as Bend, Oregon teacher wrestled w/ teen shooter to save kids lives as 25-year-old teacher, Meghan Lambert id as fatality. Hero bystander dad and un-identified 25-year-old teacher who fought 16-year-old gunman hailed heroes.
A Bend, Oregon teacher is reported to have fought a 16-year-old shooter after the armed teen brazenly entered a special education class at Samuel River Elementary School, Thursday where he shot dead 3 children, including a 25-year-old teacher.
The un-named teacher according to a Friday police briefing, threw her mobile phone before she tackled and tried to wrestle away a shotgun from the arms 16-year-old teen suspect, Griffin J. John II, who opened fire on a special educational needs class.
Good Samaritan dad and 25-year-old Bend teacher hailed heroes
As she tussled with him on the floor of the class, a bystander ran inside. Armed with a .40-caliber pistol, local Bend man, Kaylub Giamanco opened fire and killed the teen. Follow up reports revealed the Good Samaritan was a father with two daughters at the school who’d happened upon the scene upon returning to the area for lunch.
The dad had been driving past Silver Rail Elementary in Bend when he saw the suspect firing in the car park then shooting through a window to enter.
During the press briefing, Bend Police Department Chief Mike Krantz said the 16-year-old suspect was a prior student at the school and had previously been enrolled in special education classes.
The police chief said the suspect was armed with about 44 more rounds of shotgun ammunition when he was stopped. He fired as many as 15 rounds in the class.
‘To the people who showed courage in the face of such violence, and intervened to prevent this tragedy from being any worse, we owe you a debt of gratitude,’ Krantz said on Friday.
Added the police chief, ‘I don’t think you can underestimate or underappreciate that courage when someone is willing to risk their own life for others; we recognize that.’
25-year-old Bend, Oregon teacher id as second fatality
The official identified five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert as two of the four fatalities at the hands of the teen shooter.
The families of the two other students who were killed, an eight-year-old and 11-year-old, did not wish to have them publicly identified yet, police said.
Two others were injured in the attack. Another teacher, a 54-year-old, Becky Drury was still being treated at hospital, along with seven-year-old student, Saylor Graham who was in serious but stable condition.
Lambert’s family described her as a passionate teacher and coach.
‘To tell you about who Megan was would take 25 years,’ Lambert’s family said in a written statement, read aloud at a press conference on Friday. ‘She was funny, opinionated and she lit up a room.’
Krantz said the heroic actions of both the teacher and the father who ran inside the school saved lives.
He said the teacher who wrestled with the gunman was not hurt but ‘almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed’.
Teen shooter’s mom bought mentally challenged son ‘pump action’ shotgun for his 16th birthday 2 months earlier
Police believe the suspect travelled to the elementary school on foot, but were still investigating his exact movements.
Police said that while John had been a former student at the elementary school, he was not currently enrolled in any schools in the district. Authorities did not reveal any possible motive behind the attack.
Current reports have stated Griffin using a ‘pump action’ shotgun his mom, Shauntai May Nickerson had bought for him during his 16th birthday in August.
Stated the mom in the aftermath of the shooting, ‘he was a good boy, he really was.’
Added the parent, ‘I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss,’ referring to the parents of those killed.
‘I miss him,’ Shauntail Nickerson said of her son. ‘If I could have prevented this, I would have.’
Authorities continue to investigate.
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