Armed Parent Kills Gunman After Four Die at Oregon Elementary School
The attack in Bend marked the twenty-first mass firearm killing in the country this year and left four victims dead inside a special education classroom.
A 16-year-old gunman killed three students and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Oct. 15, 2026. An armed parent driving nearby entered the building and fatally shot the attacker.
Police said the suspect, identified as former student Griffin J. John II, threw a shotgun over a fence just before 1 p.m. Outside the school, a pickup driver confronted him. The teenager fired at least three shots at the truck before the motorist drove off and called 911.
The gunman shot through the glass exterior doors to enter the facility. He then moved into a mixed-age special education classroom, where he fired up to 15 rounds.
An uninjured teacher threw her mobile phone at the gunman and tackled him to wrest away the weapon. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter and father of two students, heard the gunshots and ran inside. Giamanco drew a legally secured pistol and killed the suspect during the physical struggle.
Police locked down the campus at 1:01 p.m. and arrived one minute later, finding the suspect dead. Five people died at the scene, including the gunman. Two others, a 54-year-old teacher and a 7-year-old girl, were hospitalized with critical injuries.
Authorities identified two of the deceased victims as 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert, also reported as Meghan Lambert, and 5-year-old student Rhoam Summer. The families of two other deceased boys, aged 8 and 11, asked police to withhold their names. Summer was the youngest person killed in a U.S. school mass shooting since the 1960s.
Educator Becky Drury underwent surgery for non-life-threatening injuries at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. Medical personnel transferred the 7-year-old girl to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where she remained in serious but stable condition.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz stated that the teacher and Giamanco prevented further deaths through their actions. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said the community was heartbroken, noting that all casualties occurred within a single classroom.
Investigators recovered a Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun loaded with birdshot, buckshot, and slugs, along with 44 unfired rounds. Law enforcement sources stated that the suspect's mother legally purchased the shotgun. The shooting was the 21st mass firearm killing in the country in 2026.
Bend-La Pine Schools canceled all classes and district activities on Friday. Detectives searched the gunman's home, seizing computers and mobile phones. Local police and federal agencies continue to investigate how the teenager obtained the firearm and ammunition.
