Police Identify Former Student as 16-Year-Old Shooter in Bend Elementary Attack
Investigators said the 16-year-old who killed three boys and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary was a former special-needs student, and that his mother may have purchased the shotgun used in the assault.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the shooter was identified as Griffin John II, a 16-year-old resident who had previously attended Silver Rail Elementary School. The teenager entered the campus Thursday afternoon carrying a Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, which police believe was purchased by his mother, according to multiple sources.
Krantz told reporters that the teen first fired at a nearby truck, striking it several times, before scaling a fence and entering a special-needs classroom where he discharged at least 15 rounds, killing three boys and a teacher, Megan Lambert, 25. An unidentified teacher attempted to disarm the shooter by throwing a phone and tackling him. A civilian driver, identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, pursued the shooter and shot him dead.
The superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, Steven Cook, confirmed that the suspect had been a special-needs student at the school. Two other children—a 7-year-old girl and a teacher, Becky Drury, 54—were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Police recovered approximately 44 rounds of ammunition from the shooter’s backpack.
"Currently, the origin of that possession is what we're working on," Krantz said, adding that the motive remains under investigation.
Search warrants were executed at the shooter’s home, and investigators continue to collect evidence and interview witnesses as the case remains open.