School District Honors Teacher After Fatal Shooting

Bend-La Pine Schools said a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School killed three children and special education teacher Megan Lambert, 25. The district praised the staff members and educator who responded during the attack, saying its “hearts broken” and that school workers “responded to an attack on their school in a way for which we are forever grateful.”

The district’s account centers school staff and their actions in the aftermath. Lambert joined the district that fall for her first teaching job. It remembered her as a “bright light” for her “students, family, and our community,” adding, “She will be missed beyond words can express.”

Who the district praised

Bend-La Pine Schools also praised Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant who suffered injuries and was recovering. “We continue to wrap our arms around Becky Drury,” the district said in a social media post. The district also said a learning specialist “responded with extraordinary courage and engaged directly with the shooter.” It didn’t name the learning specialist, but said, “We are so thankful for her safety and forever in her debt.”

The district’s statements honor staff members who faced the attack, including a learning specialist whose identity the article doesn’t disclose. Police Chief Mike Krantz also praised an unnamed teacher who confronted the gunman, throwing a cellphone and tackling him. “The teacher... was willing to stand and fight for her children,” Krantz said Friday. “I think we all recognize that that is true heroism. She almost certainly helped avoid more bloodshed.”

Police said a 7-year-old girl and Drury were injured and recovering. The article provides no further details about their injuries. The district’s public praise and the police chief’s account describe how staff members responded inside their own school as the attack unfolded.

The community’s response

Residents gathered near Silver Rail on Saturday to mourn Lambert and the children killed. The dead children included 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two children, ages 8 and 11, whose families asked that their names not be publicly disclosed. Mourners left flowers, offered prayers and wrote messages of support in chalk at a sidewalk memorial outside the school.

Residents gathered at the school and carried out those acts; no institution spoke on their behalf. The memorial gave mourners a place to leave flowers and messages for those killed and affected. By contrast, the district named the loss and praised staff members’ response, while police provided details about the confrontation with the shooter.

What authorities said happened

Community members and authorities also commended Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a father of two Silver Rail students. On his lunch break, he saw the teenage gunman enter the building carrying a shotgun. Giamanco retrieved a legally secured .40-caliber pistol from his car, pursued the shooter into the school and fatally shot him.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised the rapid response of citizens and staff. His remarks singled out the unnamed teacher who confronted the gunman, while the district honored Lambert, Drury and the unnamed learning specialist. Bend is about 170 miles south of Portland. The reported response includes residents’ memorial, staff members’ actions and Giamanco’s intervention; the article describes no electoral or legislative response.