Heroism and Tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary School Shooting in Bend, Oregon
Teacher Megan Lambert and kindergarten student Rhoam Summer were killed alongside two other boys during an Oct. 15, 2026, shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where quick actions by a teacher, a passing driver, and a local father intervened to halt the 16-year-old gunman.
The tragedy unfolded in mere moments. Deschutes County dispatchers received the first emergency call at 12:59 p.m. from a pickup truck driver outside the school reporting gunfire, opb reported. Within five minutes, police arrived to find the suspected shooter dead at the scene.
How the Intervention Unfolded at Silver Rail Elementary
Griffin J. John II, a 16-year-old former student of Silver Rail Elementary who was not currently enrolled in the Bend-La Pine public schools, approached the campus, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said during a press conference. Two drivers spotted the armed teen as he threw his weapon over a fence and climbed it to access the property.
One driver in a pickup truck verbally confronted the suspect. The teenager fired at the truck, striking it at least three times, before the driver drove down the street to dial 911. A second vehicle’s driver—identified by the Associated Press as Kaylub Giamanco, the father of two students at the school—grabbed his legally secured .40-caliber pistol and followed the armed teen into the parking lot.
The gunman shot out the glass on the locked entrance doors and entered a classroom immediately to the left, firing as many as 15 rounds. Inside that special education classroom, a teacher threw her cell phone at the suspect, tackled him, and fought to wrest the firearm away.
Before the struggle ended, Giamanco entered the classroom and shot and killed the 16-year-old shooter. Krantz praised the teacher’s response as incredible heroism and stated that the public owes Giamanco a debt of gratitude.
Four Children and a Teacher Die in Shooting
The attack claimed the lives of 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert and 5-year-old kindergartener Rhoam Summer. At the request of their families, police did not release the names of the other two boys, ages 8 and 11, who also died.
Two others sustained serious injuries during the shooting. A 7-year-old child received life-saving care at the scene and was listed in serious but stable condition at OHSU in Portland. Becky Drury, a 54-year-old special education teacher, was treated at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend and is expected to survive, according to family spokesperson Zack Hall.
Mourners gathered for a vigil outside Silver Rail Elementary School and in downtown Bend following the shooting. Mourners left stuffed animals, children’s books, crayons, and candles at a makeshift memorial draped behind yellow crime scene tape.
Investigators continue to examine the exact motivations behind the attack. Law enforcement officials noted that the teenage shooter had no known previous juvenile criminal history.