Armed Parent Halts Oregon School Shooting That Killed Four

Bend Oregon residents are reeling after a 16-year-old opened fire inside Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday afternoon killing three children and one teacher before a local father stopped the attack. The shooter Griffin John II used a shotgun that authorities say his mother had purchased leaving four dead and two others critically wounded in the latest episode of school gun violence to strike the United States.

Police received the first reports of an active shooter at the school just before 1 p.m. local time. Officers arrived within two minutes but found that the gunman had already forced his way inside by shooting through locked doors. The attack began when the suspect fired into a car outside the building then entered and targeted a special education classroom where the youngest victim a five-year-old boy named Rhoam Summer was among those killed. Two other children ages eight and eleven also died along with a teacher. A seven-year-old student and a 54-year-old educator were rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

The shooter was armed with a long gun described by law enforcement sources as a shotgun bought by his mother. No motive has been released and investigators described the probe as lengthy and ongoing. Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters the incident would require extensive follow-up work to piece together how the teenager gained access to the firearm and why he chose the school.

What interrupted the rampage was the quick action of Kaylub Giamanco a 36-year-old carpenter and father of two girls who attend Silver Rail Elementary. Giamanco was returning from lunch when he heard gunfire and saw the suspect enter the building. He pursued the gunman inside and shot him dead ending the attack before more lives could be lost. Colleagues and family members described Giamanco as a devoted parent who acted instinctively to protect the children inside.

The speed of the response from both police and the intervening parent could not prevent the deaths of four people in a matter of minutes. Community members in Bend a city roughly 175 miles southeast of Portland expressed shock that such violence had reached their quiet neighborhood school. The shooter lived locally and had no prior public record that officials have disclosed.

This incident adds to a long list of school shootings across the country in which firearms legally obtained by adults end up in the hands of minors. The use of a shotgun purchased by the suspects mother underscores questions about how easily young people can access weapons in American households. While investigators continue to determine exactly what happened inside the classroom the tragedy has once again exposed the human cost when guns are not kept secure from teenagers.

School officials have not yet announced when classes will resume at Silver Rail Elementary. Grief counselors are being made available to students families and staff as the community begins to process the loss of three children and a teacher cut down in a place meant to be safe. Additional details from the investigation are expected in the coming days.