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Sunday, October 18, 2026

The File

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Bend, Oregon · Sunday, October 18, 2026

Parent and teacher stopped Bend school gunman, police say

Thursday, Oct. 15

The File desk · Oct 18, 2026, 11:30 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed from Bend police updates posted by Bend-La Pine Schools, and from the district's plan for the coming week. The suspect is dead. Police have not announced a charge.
  • Confirmed
    On Thursday, Oct. 15, a 16-year-old killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend and was himself shot and killed.
  • Confirmed
    Police say a 36-year-old man whose children attend the school shot the gunman, after a teacher in the classroom fought him for the shotgun. Police have not named either adult.
  • Confirmed
    District schools stay closed to students Monday and Tuesday. Students return Wednesday on an early-release day. Silver Rail stays closed until further notice.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, a gunman killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon. Police say a parent and a teacher stopped him. The gunman is dead.1
The first 911 call came at 12:59 p.m. A person in a car said someone with a long gun was shooting at the vehicle. Officers were at the school at 1:02 p.m. The gunman had forced the front doors and gone into the classroom on the left.2
Three children and a 25-year-old teacher were dead at the school, along with the suspect. A 7-year-old girl and a teacher were hurt.3
The district named two of the dead with their families' permission. Rhoam Summer was 5. Teacher Megan Lambert was 25 and lived in Bend. The other families asked not to be named.
The injured girl was later at Oregon Health and Science University, serious but stable. Teacher Becky Drury, 54, was at St. Charles Bend. Her injuries were serious but not life-threatening. Her family allowed her name to be used.
Police say a 36-year-old man whose children attend the school parked, took a pistol that was secured in his vehicle, and shot the gunman. A teacher in the classroom had already thrown her phone, tackled the gunman, and fought him for the shotgun. She was not hurt. Police have not named either of them.4
The suspect is Griffin J. John II, 16. He had gone to Silver Rail before. He was not enrolled there. Police say they believe he walked to the school.
District schools stay closed to students Monday and Tuesday. Students are due back Wednesday on an early-release day. Silver Rail itself stays closed until further notice.5
Why it matters (Estimate). A parent and a teacher ended the shooting inside the school. The children who died are the fact the district is now planning the week around.
Police Chief Mike Krantz said thousands of people came to a vigil at Drake Park “because you care about each other, and that mattered.”

Notes

  1. 1.Bend-La Pine Schools, Silver Rail community information hub, reposting Bend Police. Case number 2026-00057584. The page was published Saturday night, Oct. 17, Eastern time (page timestamp 2026-10-18T01:19:21Z). The shooting was Thursday, Oct. 15. https://www.blschools.org/news/silver-rail-community-information-hub
  2. 2.Friday, Oct. 16 police update on that page. At 12:59 p.m. Deschutes County Dispatch got a 911 call from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at. Lockdown was ordered at 1:01 p.m. First officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. The suspect walked along the south side of the school, forced an external set of double doors, fired into the glass, and went into the classroom immediately to the left. Police say he fired as many as 15 rounds in all. The exact number fired in the classroom is still under investigation. All victims were shot in that classroom. A Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun was near him, and he had about 44 rounds of 12-gauge ammunition left on him or in a backpack.
  3. 3.Same update. Dead at the scene: three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, one 25-year-old teacher, and the suspect. The other child victims' families asked not to be identified. The 7-year-old girl, after care at the scene, was at OHSU, serious but stable. Becky Drury, 54, of Bend, was at St. Charles Bend with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
  4. 4.Same update. “The 36-year-old man who parked at the school took out a 40-caliber pistol that was legally secured in his vehicle.” He saw a teacher in a physical altercation and fired, striking the suspect multiple times. Separately: “A teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone at the suspect, then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured.” Police also said they executed a search warrant at the suspect's home and do not intend to relinquish the scene until Tuesday of next week at the earliest. That Friday update's “Tuesday of next week” is Oct. 20.
  5. 5.District plan on the same hub: “Here is the plan for next week.” Monday and Tuesday, all schools remain closed to students. Wednesday, students return on the early-release Wednesday schedule. Thursday and Friday, regular schedules. “Silver Rail Elementary will remain closed until further notice.” The page does not print the calendar date Oct. 21. It was published Saturday night and says “next week,” so the Wednesday it names is Oct. 21. Counseling will be in the buildings, and law enforcement presence will be heightened.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Silver Rail community information hub

    Bend-La Pine Schools, reposting Bend Police · October 16, 2026

    The deceased at the scene include three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and one 25-year-old teacher. The 36-year-old man who parked at the school took out a 40-caliber pistol that was legally secured in his vehicle. The suspect has been identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.

    https://www.blschools.org/news/silver-rail-community-information-hub