Oregon school shooting: police name former pupil as suspected gunman

Police in Bend, Oregon, have identified a 16-year-old former pupil as the suspected gunman in a shooting that killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday, 15 October. The teenager also died at the scene. [1]

Police Chief Mike Krantz named him as Griffin J. John II. He had previously attended Silver Rail but was no longer enrolled in the local school district. Authorities said he had received special education at the school and that the shooting took place in a classroom for pupils with special educational needs. Krantz said investigators did not yet know why he attacked. [1] [3]

The children killed were boys aged five, eight and 11. Police named the youngest, Rhoam Summer, at his family’s request; the other boys’ families asked that their names not be released. The teacher who died was 25-year-old Megan Lambert. A seven-year-old girl was seriously injured, as was another teacher, aged 54. [1]

According to police, the teenager fired at a passing pickup truck outside the school before shooting through locked entrance doors. Inside, a teacher threw her phone at him, then tackled and fought him. A father whose children attend Silver Rail followed him into the building and shot him dead. The teacher who fought him was not injured. [1]

Police are still investigating how the teenager obtained the shotgun and ammunition. The Associated Press cited an unnamed law enforcement official as saying his mother had bought the gun, but that does not establish how it came into his hands. [1] [3]