Police say a teacher threw her phone and tackled the 16-year-old gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School before parent Kaylub Giamanco entered and fatally shot him. Authorities say those actions likely prevented more deaths.
New details from the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting in Bend, Oregon, reveal an extraordinary sequence of bravery inside the building. Police say a teacher threw her cellphone at the gunman and tackled him as a parent who had followed the shooter into the school rushed toward the confrontation.
The attack killed three boys, ages 5, 8 and 11, along with 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. A child and another teacher were also wounded, leaving the Bend community mourning one of the deadliest school attacks in Oregon history.
Authorities say the 16-year-old shooter, a former student at Silver Rail, arrived with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. He fired through locked doors to enter the school and moved toward a classroom serving students with special needs.
One teacher responded by throwing her phone at him and physically tackling him. Police later praised the move as an act of remarkable courage that may have disrupted the shooter long enough to save additional lives.
At nearly the same time, Kaylub Giamanco, a father with two children at the school, saw the gunman heading toward the building and followed him inside. Giamanco was legally carrying a handgun and moved toward the sound of gunfire.
Police say Giamanco encountered the shooter during the struggle and fatally shot him. Authorities have publicly praised both the teacher and Giamanco, saying their actions almost certainly limited the number of people killed or wounded.
The entire attack unfolded in minutes. Investigators recovered 15 spent shotgun shells and dozens of unused rounds, suggesting the gunman still had substantial ammunition when he was stopped.
The shooter’s mother legally purchased the shotgun, according to police. Investigators are still working to determine how her son obtained access to it and what motivated him to attack his former elementary school.
Authorities have identified the gunman as a former special-needs student who once attended Silver Rail. They have not released evidence establishing a clear motive, and investigators continue interviewing family members and reviewing digital records.
The focus now is on the victims and the people who acted in the middle of a nightmare. Lambert was remembered as a dedicated young educator who had wanted to teach children with special needs, while families are sharing memories of the boys who were killed.
This is not a story that needs Buzzy Times snark. The details are dramatic enough on their own, and the deaths of children are not material for a punchline.
What deserves emphasis is what happened in the seconds after the shooter entered. A teacher confronted an armed teenager with a cellphone and her own body, and a father ran into a school where shots were being fired because his children were inside.
Police believe those choices prevented the casualty list from becoming even longer. In a story defined by unimaginable loss, that is the one piece of the timeline that offers any measure of relief.
