A 16-year-old walked up to Silver Rail Elementary in Bend on Thursday afternoon carrying a long gun. John J. Griffin II fired through the locked doors and got inside. Within minutes a teacher and three children—ages 5, 8, and 11—were dead. A 7-year-old and another teacher were left critical.
Kaylub Giamanco, a local carpenter with two girls at the school, heard the shots while driving back from lunch. He saw the teen heading in. He followed. Giamanco had a permit to carry. He stopped the attack. The suspect was killed.
Kyle Giamanco said his brother is carrying a heavy load of guilt for the kids he could not reach in time. Authorities confirmed a community member ended the threat. The first emergency call came at 12:59 p.m. from a man whose truck had been shot at outside. More calls poured in as the gunman entered the building. Officers arrived about three minutes later.
Parents described the long wait at a church while students were brought out. Jenn Johnston’s son texted her he was okay. When they reunited he was in tears. Justin Penfield spoke with a man standing by a shot-up pickup who said he had yelled at the suspect, taken fire, and called for help.
The firearm had been purchased by the teen’s mother near his birthday in August. Motive remains unknown. The school sits at 61530 SE Stone Creek Lane in Bend, Deschutes County, central Oregon. Victim names have not been released.
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