Oregon teacher fought school attacker before armed father shot him
A 16-year-old gunman killed four people at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. A teacher wrestled with him, and a father who entered the school shot and killed the attacker.
Four people were killed and two injured in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, in the United States. Police say the 16-year-old suspect, Griffin J. John II, was shot dead by a bystander, a father who ran into the school. Before that, a teacher had wrestled with the gunman.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference on Friday that the suspect fired as many as 15 rounds in a classroom and was carrying about 44 more rounds of shotgun ammunition when he was stopped. Krantz thanked those who showed courage and intervened to keep the attack from being worse.
Victims and injured
Police identified two of the dead: five-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Meghan Lambert. The families of two other students killed, aged eight and 11, have asked that they not yet be named publicly. A 54-year-old teacher is still being treated in hospital, and a seven-year-old student is in serious but stable condition.
The suspect and the investigation
Krantz said the suspect had previously attended the school as a special educational needs student. Police believe he walked to the school and are still investigating his movements, how he obtained the gun and his motive. A search warrant was executed at his home and the search is continuing. The teacher who grappled with him was not hurt and, Krantz said, almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.
Officials have not confirmed the name of the father, but his family told US media he is Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter. His brother told NBC News that Giamanco was heading home after lunch when he saw the suspect fire at a vehicle outside the school, shoot through a window and enter the building. Police said he had a legally concealed .40 caliber pistol in his vehicle and fired at the suspect multiple times, killing him.
In a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the family said he is not seeking recognition, thanked first responders, school staff and the community, and asked for privacy. President Donald Trump called him a "great hero", and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek acknowledged his heroic actions.
