Teen gunman in Oregon mass shooting killed three students and one teacher on school picture day as police investigate motive

The 16-year-old gunman who opened fire in an Oregon elementary school attacked on school picture day, devastated parents said.

Joe Camarlinghi, the father of a third-grader at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, described the attack as “sickening” to Oregon Live, and said that families later realized those photos were the final ones taken of several children killed in the shooting on October 15.

Tributes have poured in for the three children, aged 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old learning specialist killed in the violence. A 7-year-old child and 54-year-old educational assistant suffered critical injuries and were transported to a local hospital.

A hero bystander who subdued the gunman, a former special-needs student, has also been identified.

The violence unfolded at 12:58 p.m., when a passing driver saw the teenager throw a 12-gauge shotgun over a school fence and climb over. When confronted, the teen fired at the truck before shooting through locked glass doors to enter the building.

Police rushed to the school around 1 p.m. after receiving reports of an “active shooter.”

Law enforcement arrived within two minutes, officials said. Inside a special-needs classroom, a teacher threw her cellphone at the teen and tackled him. Hearing the gunfire, the 36-year-old father who had been driving by retrieved a handgun from his car, entered the school and fatally shot the suspect during the struggle.

The shooter was dead shortly after police arrived.

As police continue to investigate the shooting, here is everything we know about the attack:

Who was the suspected gunman?

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz identified the 16-year-old shooter as Griffin J. John II, noting he was a former special-needs student at the school. Police found 44 additional rounds of ammunition in his possession.

What was the motive?

Authorities have not detailed a motive and say the shooting remains under investigation. Krantz stated that investigators may never find answers for why the teenager targeted the school.

“This is going to be a long investigation,” Krantz said Thursday.

Who was the bystander who stopped the shooter?

On Friday, Kaylub Giamanco, 36, was identified as the parent who subdued the gunman, according to his brother, who spoke to NBC News.

Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls enrolled at the school, was returning home from lunch when he heard gunfire and saw the gunman enter the building. Giamanco, who owns a concealed weapon, chose to follow the gunman into a special education classroom.

How many victims were there?

Four people were killed in addition to the gunman. Bend Police identified 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old staffer Megan Lambert in a tribute on social media.

Lambert’s family said she had recently started her “dream job” at the elementary school.

“Silver Rail was her first job as a teacher,” a family tribute released by Bend Police said. “She LOVED Silver Rail – this was her dream job. Megan was compassionate and had a huge heart. She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.”

Her family went on to describe Lambert as “an incredible sister, daughter, niece, and granddaughter.”

“Her friends became her family,” they said. “She was funny and opinionated, and she lit up the room.”

The identities of the 8-year-old and 11-year-old victims are being withheld at their families’ request.

Educational assistant Becky Drury and an injured 7-year-old student continue to recover from their injuries.

Where did the shooting happen?

The shooting happened at Silver Rail Elementary School, which is along SE Stone Creek Lane in Bend, Oregon. The school serves about 450 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Bend is in central Oregon and about a three-hour drive from Portland. The city has a population of nearly 100,000 people. It is the county seat for Deschutes County.

The school remains closed as law enforcement processes the scene.

How have elected officials responded to the shooting?

A number of officials have spoken out after the shooting.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek stated she was closely monitoring the situation as state agencies assisted local police.

“As we learn more about the tragic event at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend today, we must come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian,” Kotek posted on X. “No community should have to live through this day.”

“All Oregonians mourn this loss today,” she said during a Thursday press conference. “To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life, your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well.”

“We are heartbroken. We are horrified,” Steven Cook, the superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, said during the press conference. “This is the kind of thing you hear about in other places and pray that it never happens here.”

A number of the state’s Democratic lawmakers called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting. “Once again we must ask how many schools must be shot up before Republicans agree to act to curb gun violence,” Senator Ron Wyden wrote on X.

FBI Director Kash Patel stated: “FBI Portland is on the scene and assisting our local partners in the investigation regarding an earlier shooting at a local school. We will make every resource they need available.”