by Rose Gleason '29 on October 22, 2026
News - National & Global
On Oct. 16, three kids and one teacher were shot and killed during an elementary school shooting. Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, OR, faced a tragedy when Griffin J. John II entered the school building. Three boys, ages 5, 8, and 11, were in the special education classroom with their teacher, Megan Lambert, when John opened fire. John was a former student at Silver Rail Elementary and is now 16 years old. He was a part of the school’s special education program and has been unenrolled from any public schools in the district for some time.
A man was driving a red pickup truck when he verbally confronted John, which led John to fire at the vehicle and strike it at least three times. The driver called the Deschutes County dispatchers at 12:59 p.m. to report the gunshots. Kaylub Giamanco was the driver behind the pickup truck and the father of two girl students at Silver Rail Elementary. Giamanco watched John shoot the truck, throw his gun over the fence of the school, and then hop the fence and run onto the school property. Giamanco followed the attacker into the school with his legally obtained .40-caliber pistol.
John entered the school by shooting the locked door, immediately entered the classroom to the left of the entryway, and then began firing. A teacher threw her cell phone at the 16-year-old and tackled him in an attempt to take control of his gun. Giamanco entered the school and witnessed John begin to wrestle the teacher, then Giamanco killed the attacker. The teacher who attempted to stop John was not seriously injured, and she is recognized for her heroism and courage in fighting for the protection and safety of the students. Likewise, Giamanco is praised for his bravery and quick action. The two protectors do not want attention and, rather, are happy to save the children.
After the call at 12:59 p.m. from the pickup truck driver, the police arrived on the scene in less than five minutes. Yet, the shooter had already been stopped and killed by the time the officers arrived. The police found that John shot 15 rounds of ammunition in the classroom. John brought more than 44 rounds of ammunition to attack the school. It was found that his mother had purchased the gun, a Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun, for his birthday. However, when the police questioned the mother, she declined to comment on how her son obtained possession of the gun. She told the police that she misses her son and mourns for the families who lost their children. Another teacher, Becky Drury, and a student were injured in the shooting. Drury was shot in the arm and the hand and is recovering from surgery. The student is in the hospital facing serious but stable conditions.