Bend School Shooting Kills Teacher and Three Children

Bend-La Pine Schools said an attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed four people: three children and special education teacher Megan Lambert, 25. The district praised staff members who responded, including an unnamed learning specialist who engaged the shooter directly. Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant injured in the shooting, was recovering, the district said.

The people killed and injured

Lambert had joined the district that fall for her first teaching job. Bend-La Pine Schools remembered her as a bright light for her “students, family, and our community,” and said, “She will be missed beyond words can express.” The district said its “hearts are broken” after the shooting.

Three children died alongside Lambert. One was 5-year-old Rhoam Summer. The families of the other two children, ages 8 and 11, asked that their names not be made public. Police said a 7-year-old girl and Drury were injured and recovering.

Residents gathered near the school Saturday to mourn Lambert and the children. They left flowers, offered prayers and wrote messages of support in chalk at a sidewalk memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary School. Bend sits about 170 miles south of Portland.

Staff response during the attack

The district praised the courage of the educator and staff members who responded. “They responded to an attack on their school in a way for which we are forever grateful,” it said. The district also said it continued to “wrap our arms around Becky Drury” as she recovered from her injuries.

A learning specialist, whose name the district didn't provide, engaged directly with the shooter. “We are so thankful for her safety and forever in our debt,” the district said. It didn't identify the learning specialist.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz also praised school staff, including an unnamed teacher who confronted the gunman by 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.”

A parent intervenes

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

Krantz praised the rapid response of citizens and staff, including Giamanco and the unnamed teacher who confronted the gunman. The district’s statement focused on Lambert, Drury and the educators who responded inside the school. It didn't identify the learning specialist or provide further details about her actions. The account reports no union response, proposed policy change, funding figures or financial beneficiaries connected to the shooting. It records the deaths, injuries, staff response and the community’s mourning.