She Threw Her Phone and Tackled Him; He Ran Toward the Shots

There are names that should never have to be spoken in this context, and a school that should never have become a crime scene. On Thursday afternoon at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, a 16-year-old former student named Griffin J. John II walked onto campus with a shotgun, fired as many as 15 rounds, and killed three children and a teacher before a bystander with a legally owned handgun entered the school and stopped him .

The shooter used a pump-action 12-gauge Maverick 88 shotgun purchased by his mother, according to law enforcement sources. He carried three types of ammunition—birdshot, buckshot, and slugs—and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was killed .

Police said the shooter approached the school fence on foot, threw the shotgun over, and climbed it himself. When confronted by a man passing in a pickup truck, he fired on the truck at least three times. The driver fled and made the first 911 call. A second bystander, identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two daughters who attend the school, saw the shooting and drove into the parking lot .

The shooter forced his way into the building by firing into the glass panes of double doors. He went directly into the classroom to the left of those doors and opened fire. All the victims were shot in that classroom. Inside, a teacher threw her cellphone at the suspect, then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. Giamanco entered the classroom, found them struggling, and fired his 40-caliber pistol, striking the suspect multiple times. Police Chief Mike Krantz praised the teacher's "heroic actions," saying she "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed" .

The children killed were aged 5, 8, and 11. The 5-year-old was identified as Rhoam Summer. The teacher killed was Meghan Lambert, 25. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded and hospitalized in critical condition .

The shooting was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by the Associated Press and USA Today. The shooter's mother, Shauntai Nickerson, told reporters outside her apartment that if she could have done something to prevent the shooting, she would have. "I miss my boy," she said, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, I wish I could have done something" .

Giamanco's family released a statement saying he "is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel, and community." A parent of a kindergartner at the school, Brooke Olsen, wept as she spoke. "I think it's miraculous that someone was there before law enforcement even arrived to stop further tragedy from happening," she said. "I'm feeling very grateful" . The investigation into the shooter's motive continues.

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Sources: CBS News, The Canadian Press, AP News, KOBI-TV, Tanjug