Police Chief Mike Krantz detailed the sequence of events during a news conference, outlining how a 16-year-old former student forced his way into the K-5 school on Thursday afternoon. Investigators confirmed that all of the fatalities occurred inside a single classroom housing students with special educational needs.
The Victims and Survivors
Among the dead is 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert, whom her family described through a police official as working her “dream job.” Lambert grew up in Bend, graduated from Boise State University in May 2023, and was remembered by relatives as compassionate and dedicated to advocating for students with special needs.
Police identified three children killed in the attack: a 5-year-old boy named Rhoam Summer, an 8-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old boy. The families of the two older children requested that their names not be made public, as reported by AOL.
Two others sustained critical injuries during the rampage. A 7-year-old girl was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, while a 54-year-old teacher identified as Becky Drury suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to statements from police and her family.
Minute-by-Minute Timeline
According to timelines provided by the AOL report, the sequence of events unfolded rapidly over a matter of minutes on Thursday afternoon:
* **12:58 p.m. PT:** The teenage gunman approached a fence at Silver Rail Elementary School, threw his weapon over it, and climbed onto the property.
* **12:59 p.m. PT:** A driver in a red Toyota pickup verbally confronted the suspect after being shot at multiple times. The driver made the initial 911 call to Deschutes County dispatch reporting an active threat with a long gun.
* **1:00 p.m. PT:** A tone alert ordered all law enforcement officers to a critical incident, and the school was directed into immediate lockdown.
* **1:02 p.m. PT:** The first Bend police officers arrived at the facility, quickly learning that an armed community member had already engaged the suspect.
Intervention and Investigation
Police credited two distinct interventions with preventing further loss of life. Inside the classroom, an unnamed teacher threw her mobile phone at the gunman, tackled him to the floor, and fought to disarm him. Although she was unarmed, Police Chief Krantz stated she almost certainly prevented additional bloodshed.
Simultaneously, Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter and father whose daughters attend the school, witnessed the suspect firing at the pickup truck from his lunch break. Armed with a legally secured 40-caliber pistol and holding a concealed-weapon permit, Giamanco followed the shooter inside, entered the classroom during the struggle, and fired multiple shots, killing the suspect.
Authorities confirmed that the gunman had previously attended Silver Rail Elementary as a special needs student but was no longer enrolled in the school district. The official motive behind the shooting remains under active investigation.
Reporting source: aol.com.