Teacher Throws Phone at Shooter to Save Three Children

Four people lost their lives in a horrific shooting at an Oregon elementary school on what was supposed to be picture day. The attacker, 16-year-old Griffin John II, walked into Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend and opened fire. Three children aged five, eight and 11 were killed alongside teacher Meghan Lambert, who was just 25 years old.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz spoke about the bravery shown during the attack. He said an unidentified female teacher threw her cellphone at John before tackling him to the ground. She fought hard to disarm him. The teacher walked away without injury. Krantz noted her actions almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed. Those words carry heavy weight when families wait for news of their children.

Joe Camarlinghi is a father in the community whose third-grader attended Silver Rail Elementary. He described the day as sickening. Parents sent their kids to school with wide smiles, ready for photos instead of celebration. Instead, they spent hours wondering if their children were alive. When families finally gathered, some realized those pictures would be the last ones ever taken. Camarlinghi told The Oregonian that every parent felt the same fear: is my child safe?

Another victim suffered serious injuries during the rampage. A seven-year-old student who uses a wheelchair was hurt along with educational assistant Becky Drury, 54. Both survived but faced an unimaginably difficult recovery ahead. Drury's husband later asked for privacy as his family processed the trauma. He thanked everyone showing kindness and concern to those affected by the tragedy.

Heroes emerged from the chaos that day. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father, ran into the school to stop John's deadly spree. Camarlinghi called him a hero dad whose actions answered the prayers of many parents. Krantz said Giamanco undoubtedly saved lives with quick thinking and immense courage. The police chief added that society rarely sees such bravery in action today.

John fired as many as 15 shots before he was shot dead. Police found 44 rounds remaining when officers ended the threat. The community now holds vigils and places flowers at impromptu memorials near the school. People mourn not just the four who died but also the survivors who carry scars from that day.

The shooter fired on everyone inside a special education class where he himself was a student when he attended the school as a young child. And so that is the part that today is still just processing, one father whose daughter attends the school said. Police stated that John was so intent on targeting his former class that he ran around to the back entrance after being fired upon while trying to go in through the front.

John, who was not enrolled in a Bend public school at the time, traveled to Silver Rail Elementary on foot and the route is being investigated. He threw the Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun over the fence before jumping over but found himself blocked from entering initially. He then ran to the back entrance and blasted his way in through a safety vestibule system designed to keep children at the school safe from shooters.

Law enforcement remained unsure as to how John obtained his ammunition, saying the investigation was very active. Giamanco's wife Kelsey and brother Kyle along with several of his friends confirmed he was the hero who intervened by running inside the school during the attack. He holds a concealed carry permit and is friends with the family of the seven-year-old in the wheelchair who was wounded.

Griffin was shot dead minutes after he began his rampage by Kalub Giamanco, 36, a dad of two children at the school who heard the gunshots as he drove home for his lunch break. Bend Chief of Police Mike Krantz praised the heroic dad and teacher during a press conference on Friday. John looked gangly with a patchy mustache and goatee in a haunting photo posted by his mother Shauntai Nickerson last month where he could be seen staring into the camera with a sullen glaze.

Nickerson told a TV station in 2020 that she was pleased students were going back to the classroom because her son was struggling with distance learning during Covid lockdowns. I think it will be great for Griffin because I am not certified teaching a special needs student, she told KTVZ 21. And I think it will be great for my son to get the help that he needs from the skilled teachers that he needs to get it from. The future murderer was in the Nurturing Empathy Safety and Trust program which helped special education students experiencing intensive behavioral and social skills challenges.

John used his mother's shotgun to carry out the massacre which police said was bought about the time of his 16th birthday. Nickerson insisted to reporters who confronted her outside her home in Bend that her son was a good boy and she would have stopped him if she could. John's motive is unknown and remains unexplained by authorities so far. Police raided his family's home on Thursday night seizing computers and other electronic devices while the family was said to be cooperative with the investigation.

Rhoam Summer left was named as one of the victims of Thursday's shooting and he is pictured with his mother in available photos. The first victim of Thursday's shooting was named as five-year-old Rhoam Summer by his father Kelik Summer who wrote on Facebook that today has been the worst day of my life. My son Rhoam was killed in a school shooting, Summer wrote. We are broken and lost but are surrounded by friends and family who are keeping us safe during this terrible time.

Lambert of Bend was identified by police and family on Friday at a press conference regarding her death. Her family remembered her as having a passion for sports and an ambition for teaching before her life ended so tragically young.

She brought light to every room and showed deep compassion with a heart that simply could not be shaken by hardship. Her family noted this clearly when she refused payment for her first season coaching volleyball. She did it so families who couldn't afford the cost could still play the sport she adored. That choice speaks volumes about her character.

Lambert was funny, held strong opinions, and never backed down from fighting for the underdog. She stood up for those with special needs without hesitation. 'Meghan loved those children,' her family stated plainly. They did not mince words when describing her devotion to them.

Her ambition was always clear: she wanted to be an educator in the school district where she grew up and fell in love. That dream came true at Silver Rail Elementary, according to statements from her relatives. She had worked there as a substitute for many years before landing the full-time role. 'She loved Silver Rail,' the family said. It was not just any job; it was her dream job through and through.