Bend School Shooting Kills Four; Staff Confront Gunman

Bend-La Pine Schools said a mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed three children and special education teacher Megan Lambert, 25. The district also praised staff members who responded during the attack, including an unnamed learning specialist who confronted the shooter directly. Police said a staff member and a 7-year-old girl suffered injuries and were recovering.

The Victims and the District’s Response

The district said its “hearts are broken” after the shooting. 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,” adding, “She will be missed beyond words can express.”

The children killed were 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two children, ages 8 and 11. Their families asked that the older children’s names not be publicly disclosed. The district’s statement addressed the deaths of the children and Lambert, while also praising the courage educators and staff showed during the attack.

Bend-La Pine Schools said staff members responded to the attack at their school “in a way for which we are forever grateful.” The district separately named 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 an unnamed learning specialist “responded with extraordinary courage and engaged directly with the shooter.” It added, “We are so thankful for her safety and forever in her debt.” The district didn't identify the learning specialist.

Staff and Residents Respond

Bend 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.”

Authorities and community members also commended Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a father of two Silver Rail students. During his lunch break, Giamanco saw the teenage gunman enter the building carrying 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 how quickly citizens and staff responded. His comments covered both the unnamed teacher who tackled the gunman and the broader response at the school; the article doesn't say whether that teacher was the learning specialist the district mentioned.

Residents gathered near the school on Saturday to mourn Lambert and the children who died. Mourners left flowers, offered prayers and wrote messages of support in chalk at a sidewalk memorial outside the school. Bend lies about 170 miles south of Portland.

Police said Drury and the 7-year-old girl suffered injuries and were recovering. The district’s public statements honored Lambert, recognized Drury’s recovery and praised staff members who acted during the attack. The community’s memorial near Silver Rail Elementary School marked the deaths of Lambert and the three children.