A 16-year-old who opened fire at an Oregon elementary school, killing three children and a teacher, was a former special education student at the school, police and school district officials said.
On October 16, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz identified the suspect as Griffin J. John II, one day after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. He said the attacker targeted a classroom for special education students, where all the victims were shot.
Steven Cook, superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, told reporters that John was no longer enrolled in the local public school system at the time of the incident. "It was a special education classroom, and the suspect was a former special education student at this school," Cook said at a news conference.
According to Chief Krantz, John used a 12-gauge shotgun to blast through a locked door to enter the school, fired up to 15 rounds and still had about 44 rounds left when he was killed. Police are still investigating how he obtained the weapon. Under Oregon law, a minor may possess a shotgun if it is provided by or with the consent of a parent.
The suspect's mother, Shauntai Nickerson, told reporters outside her apartment: "I'm so sorry, I wish I could have done something."
Chief Krantz said a female teacher threw her phone at the gunman, then rushed him and struggled with him, an action he called "heroic" that likely saved many lives. She was not injured.
A 36-year-old father, Kaylub Giamanco, who has two children at the school, then followed the gunman inside and shot and killed him minutes after the first 911 call.
U.S. President Donald Trump called Giamanco a "great hero." "It's a terrible thing, but it's very lucky that there was a man with a gun who knew how to use it," Trump said.
According to police, the victims killed were three children aged 5, 8 and 11, and teacher Meghan Lambert, 25. A 7-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to hospital in critical condition.
The shooting is the 28th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The Gun Violence Archive recorded 369 mass shootings in 2026, defined as incidents in which four or more people are shot. Everytown for Gun Safety counted at least 100 shootings on school grounds this year, with 34 people killed.
