The Bend-La Pine Schools district in Oregon said Saturday it is grieving the loss of a teacher and three young students killed this week in a mass shooting, while praising the staff and a parent who intervened during the attack.
“Our hearts are broken,” the district said in a social media post. “They responded to an attack on their school in a way for which we are forever grateful.”
Among those killed was Megan Lambert, 25, a special education teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend who had just started her first teaching job this fall. The district remembered her as a bright light for her “students, family, and our community,” adding, “She will be missed beyond words can express.”
The three student victims were 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two other children, ages 8 and 11, whose families asked that their names not be made public.
A 7-year-old girl survived with injuries. So did Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant at the school, who is currently recovering. The district said it continues to “wrap our arms around Becky Drury.”
Staff Member Confronted Gunman Directly
The district also credited an unnamed learning specialist who it said “responded with extraordinary courage and engaged directly with the shooter,” adding, “We are so thankful for her safety and forever in her debt.”
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described a teacher who confronted the gunman by throwing a cellphone at him and tackling him.
“The teacher… was willing to stand and fight for her children,” Krantz said Friday. “I think we all recognize that that is true heroism. She almost certainly helped avoid more bloodshed.”
Armed Parent Stopped the Shooter
Authorities and community members have also credited Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a father of two Silver Rail students, with stopping the attack. Giamanco was on his lunch break when he saw a teenage gunman entering the school with a shotgun. He retrieved a legally owned .40-caliber pistol from his car, followed the shooter into the building, and fatally shot him.
Bend is located about 170 miles south of Portland. On Saturday, residents gathered near the school to mourn the victims, leaving flowers, prayers and chalk messages at a growing sidewalk memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary.
