Oregon teacher fought school attacker before armed dad shot suspect 'multiple times'
The 16-year-old suspect previously attended the primary school and had targeted a special educational needs classroom, police say.
A teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, confronted a 16-year-old gunman during a shooting on Thursday lunchtime. The teacher threw her mobile phone before tackling the teen and trying to wrestle a shotgun from him. Three children and a teacher were killed in the attack.
Police said the suspect, identified as Griffin J John II, was a former student at the school. A bystander, a father of two girls at the school, saw the suspect firing in the car park and shooting through a window to enter. The bystander, armed with a pistol, ran inside and killed the teen.
Victims and injuries
Police identified two of the four victims at a news conference on Friday: five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert. The families of the two other students killed, an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old, did not wish to have them publicly identified yet.
Two others were injured. Another teacher, a 54-year-old, was still being treated at hospital, and a seven-year-old student was in serious but stable condition.
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
— Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz
Investigation and reactions
Police said the suspect fired as many as 15 rounds in the class and was armed with about 44 more rounds of shotgun ammunition when he was stopped. A search warrant has been executed at the suspect's home and a search is ongoing. Police believe the suspect travelled to the school on foot, but are still investigating his exact movements and how he acquired the gun. A motive is also not clear.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the teacher who wrestled with the gunman was not hurt but "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed". He also praised the bystander's actions. President Donald Trump called the bystander a "great hero," and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek acknowledged his heroic actions, noting they "carry a heavy emotional burden".
