Teen shooter who killed 4 at Oregon elementary school was a former student, police say

A 16-year-old former student killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, early Thursday afternoon. Police identified the shooter as Griffin J. John II, who was shot by Kaylub Giamanco after a teacher tackled him inside the school. The teacher was unharmed, while another child and teacher were hospitalized. Investigators are examining how John obtained the shotgun.

Police said John fired as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was killed.

The victims were children ages 5, 8 and 11, and teacher Megan Lambert, 25; a 7-year-old child and teacher Becky Drury, 54, were hospitalized.

The first 911 call came from a driver whose truck was struck three times after John fired at him outside the school.

Silver Rail Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade and had about 450 students enrolled last year.

Police said the shooting was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year, based on an Associated Press and USA Today database maintained with Northeastern University.

Published Oct 17, 2026 1:07 pm KST

Community members gather at an impromptu memorial at Silver Rail Elementary School, the day after a shooting, in Bend, Oregon, U.S., Oct. 16. Reuters-Yonhap

BEND, Ore. — A teacher threw her phone at the teenage gunman who killed four people at an Oregon elementary school, then tackled and fought with him — likely saving lives before he was shot by a father who followed him into the building, police said Friday.

City of Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz called the teacher's actions “heroic” during a news conference and said she was not injured. He identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II and said all of the victims were shot in the same classroom.

John was once a special needs student at Silver Rail Elementary, authorities said, and he attacked a classroom with special needs students. He fired as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was killed, Krantz said.

“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” he said. “We may never get that full answer, but we want it.”

Investigators are trying to determine how the shooter obtained the pump-action shotgun, Krantz added.

A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting told The Associated Press it was bought by his mother. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

A person stands near a makeshift memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Ore., Oct. 16, a day after a deadly shooting. AP-Yonhap

The attacker’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, told reporters outside her apartment near the school that if she could have done something to prevent the shooting, she would have.

“I miss my boy,” Nickerson said, sobbing and crying, according to The New York Times and CNN. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss.”

She declined to say how the 16-year-old obtained the pump-action shotgun and didn’t comment further when The Associated Press and other outlets knocked on her apartment door later.

In a 2020 interview with the local news station KTVZ, Nickerson identified the boy, then 10, as a participant in a special needs program run by the school district. It was called NEST, for Nurturing Empathy, Safety and Trust, and aimed at helping students experiencing intensive behavioral and social skill challenges. Nickerson said he struggled trying to learn from home during the pandemic.

Shooter killed minutes after first 911 call

The first 911 call came from the driver of a red pickup truck early Thursday afternoon who saw the boy throw his gun over a fence outside the school and then climb over it, Krantz said. The driver yelled at the boy, who fired at him, striking the truck three times. The driver was not injured.

A second driver, Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old man whose children attend Silver Rail, saw John shooting at the truck and heading toward the school, where he shot through locked doors to get inside. Giamanco pulled into the parking lot, grabbed his .40-caliber pistol and followed the attacker inside. He saw John wrestling with the teacher and shot him several times.

Three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and teacher Megan Lambert, 25, were killed, police said. A 7-year-old child who was injured received lifesaving care at the scene and is now hospitalized, as is 54-year-old teacher Becky Drury, who her family said was shot in the arm and hand and was recovering from surgery.

There were no other children in the classroom, authorities said.

The youngest victim, Rhoam Summer, was a fearless climber and a fast runner who loved reading, his aunt Swan Sheridan said Friday.

“He never met a stuffie that he didn’t think needed to be rescued and cared for,” she said.

Man who stopped shooter father of 2 at school

In a statement read to reporters Friday, Giamanco's mother, Kenda Freeman, identified him as the person who shot the gunman. She said he is the father of two girls at the school.

“He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel and community for the outpouring of love and support,” Freeman said.

She said her family was asking for privacy “during this difficult time.”

Silver Rail Elementary has students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with about 450 enrolled last year.

Classes and all other activities were canceled Friday for schools across Bend, a mountain-ringed city of about 100,000 that has become a tourism and outdoor recreation hub in central Oregon.

The shooting was the 28th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Trump says shooting could have been much worse

President Donald Trump on Friday praised the man who stopped the gunman, calling him a “great hero" who he said “took care of business.”

“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding the tragedy likely would have been much worse.

Memorials with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals popped up around the school, which sits in a densely packed neighborhood filled with newly built homes.

Brooke Olsen, whose daughter is a kindergartner at Silver Rail, said she was amazed that someone pursued the shooter.

“I think it’s miraculous that someone was there before law enforcement even arrived to stop further tragedy from happening," Olsen said Friday, weeping at times. "I’m feeling very grateful.”

周四下午早些时候，俄勒冈州本德市银轨小学发生枪击案，一名16岁的前学生枪杀了三名儿童和一名教师。警方确认枪手为格里芬·J·约翰二世，他被一名教师凯鲁布·贾曼科在校内制服后开枪击中。该教师安然无恙，另一名儿童和一名教师被送往医院。调查人员正在调查约翰是如何获得霰弹枪的。

警方称，约翰用一支 12 号口径泵动式霰弹枪开了多达 15 枪，被击毙时还剩下大约 44 发子弹。

受害者包括 5 岁、8 岁和 11 岁的儿童，以及 25 岁的教师梅根·兰伯特；一名 7 岁儿童和 54 岁的教师贝基·德鲁里被送往医院。

第一个拨打 911 报警电话的是一名司机，约翰在学校外向他开枪后，他的卡车被击中三次。

银轨小学招收幼儿园至五年级的学生，去年约有 450 名学生入学。

警方表示，根据美联社和《今日美国》与东北大学共同维护的数据库，这起枪击事件是美国今年发生的第28起大规模枪击案。

发布于2026年10月17日下午1:07（韩国标准时间）

10月16日，在美国俄勒冈州本德市，枪击案发生后的第二天，社区成员聚集在银轨小学（Silver Rail Elementary School）举行临时悼念活动。路透社-韩联社

俄勒冈州本德市——警方周五表示，一名教师向在俄勒冈州一所小学枪杀四人的青少年枪手扔出了手机，然后扑倒并与他搏斗——很可能挽救了其他人的生命，之后一名尾随他进入大楼的父亲开枪将其击毙。

本德市警察局长迈克·克兰茨在新闻发布会上称赞这位老师的行为“英勇”，并表示她本人并未受伤。他确认袭击者是16岁的格里芬·J·约翰二世，并表示所有受害者都是在同一间教室里遭到枪击的。

据当局称，约翰曾是银轨小学的一名特殊教育学生，他袭击了一间特殊教育学生所在的教室。克兰茨说，他用一把12号口径霰弹枪开了多达15枪，被击毙时还剩下大约44发子弹。

“每个人都想知道为什么，包括我们自己，”他说。“我们可能永远无法得到完整的答案，但我们想知道。”

克兰茨补充说，调查人员正在试图确定枪手是如何获得这支泵动式霰弹枪的。

一位了解枪击案情况的执法官员告诉美联社，枪支是他母亲买的。这位官员要求匿名接受美联社采访，因为他没有被授权公开讨论此案。

10月16日，在俄勒冈州本德市银轨小学外，一名男子站在临时搭建的纪念碑旁。此前一天，该小学发生致命枪击案。（美联社-韩联社）

袭击者的母亲肖恩泰·尼克尔森在学校附近的公寓外告诉记者，如果她能做些什么来阻止枪击事件，她一定会这么做。

据《纽约时报》和CNN报道，尼克森哽咽着说：“我想念我的孩子。我很抱歉，我真希望我能做点什么。我对他们的遭遇深感悲痛。”

她拒绝透露这名 16 岁少年是如何获得这支泵动式霰弹枪的，后来美联社和其他媒体敲响她公寓的门时，她也没有进一步置评。

在2020年接受当地电视台KTVZ采访时，尼克森透露，当时10岁的男孩是学区一项特殊教育项目的参与者。该项目名为NEST，意为“培养同理心、安全感和信任感”，旨在帮助那些在行为和社交技能方面存在严重障碍的学生。尼克森表示，疫情期间，男孩在家学习非常吃力。

枪手在拨打第一个911报警电话几分钟后被击毙

克兰茨说，第一个拨打911报警电话的是一名红色皮卡车司机，时间是周四下午早些时候。他看到男孩把枪扔过学校外的围栏，然后翻了过去。司机朝男孩喊叫，男孩随即向他开枪，皮卡车上中了三枪。司机没有受伤。

第二名司机凯鲁布·贾曼科（Kaylub Giamanco）今年36岁，他的孩子就读于银轨学校（Silver Rail）。他看到约翰向卡车开枪，然后朝学校方向走去，并开枪射穿了锁着的大门闯了进去。贾曼科把车停在停车场，抓起他的.40口径手枪，跟着袭击者进了学校。他看到约翰正在和老师扭打，便朝他开了数枪。

警方称，三名儿童（分别为5岁、8岁和11岁）和25岁的教师梅根·兰伯特在枪击事件中丧生。一名7岁受伤儿童在现场接受了紧急救治，目前正在医院接受治疗。54岁的教师贝基·德鲁里也因手臂和手部中弹而住院，她的家人表示她正在术后恢复中。

当局称，教室里没有其他孩子。

遇难者中最年轻的罗姆·萨默是一位无所畏惧的登山者和跑步健将，他热爱阅读，他的姑姑斯旺·谢里丹周五说道。

“他从没见过哪个毛绒玩具不是需要被拯救和照顾的，”她说。

男子在学校制止枪击案，该枪手是两个孩子的父亲

周五，贾曼科的母亲肯达·弗里曼向记者宣读了一份声明，确认贾曼科就是开枪击毙枪手的人。她说，贾曼科是这所学校两个女孩的父亲。

弗里曼说：“他并非寻求表彰，而是希望向急救人员、学校教职员工和社区表达他的感激之情，感谢他们给予的爱和支持。”

她说，她的家人希望“在这段艰难时期”能够拥有隐私。

银轨小学招收幼儿园至五年级的学生，去年约有 450 名学生入学。

周五，俄勒冈州中部一座被群山环绕、人口约 10 万的城市——本德市的所有学校都取消了课程和其他活动。本德市已成为俄勒冈州中部的一个旅游和户外休闲中心。

根据美联社和《今日美国》与东北大学合作维护的数据库显示，这起枪击事件是美国今年发生的第28起大规模杀戮事件。

特朗普称枪击事件本可能更严重。

周五，唐纳德·特朗普总统称赞了制止枪手的男子，称他是一位“伟大的英雄”，并表示他“处理好了事情”。

“这是一件可怕的事情，但值得庆幸的是，这个人有枪而且知道如何使用，”特朗普在白宫告诉记者，并补充说，如果不是他，这场悲剧可能会更加严重。

学校周围出现了摆放着鲜花、气球和毛绒玩具的悼念物品，这所学校位于一个人口密集的社区，周围都是新建的房屋。

布鲁克·奥尔森的女儿在银轨幼儿园就读，她说她很惊讶竟然有人追捕枪手。

“我认为奇迹般的是，在执法人员到达之前就有人在那里阻止了更大的悲剧发生，”奥尔森周五说道，期间不时哽咽。“我非常感激。”