Bend Police Identify 16-Year-Old Silver Rail Shooter as 4 Die in Classroom Attack
Updated
Updated · Fox 12 Oregon · Oct 15
Bend Police Identify 16-Year-Old Silver Rail Shooter as 4 Die in Classroom Attack
3 articles · Updated · Fox 12 Oregon · Oct 15
Summary
Four victims — three children ages 5, 8 and 11 and a teacher — were killed in one Silver Rail Elementary classroom, while a 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher remained hospitalized after the Thursday shooting.
Police identified the gunman as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II of Bend, saying he climbed a fence around 1 p.m., shot through school doors and fired up to 15 rounds with 12-gauge birdshot, buckshot and slugs.
A teacher disrupted the attack by throwing her cellphone and tackling the shooter, and parent Kaylub Giamanco, 36, entered the school with a legally stored .40-caliber pistol and shot him multiple times.
A red Toyota pickup driver made the first 911 call after John fired at least three times at the truck near the fence; officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. and found the suspect dead.
Police said all families have been notified, but how John obtained the shotgun and ammunition remains under active investigation.
How did a teenager bypass school security so easily, and could early behavioral threat assessments have prevented this tragedy?
An armed parent stopped the attack, but does relying on civilian intervention highlight a critical flaw in school protection strategies?
With locked doors easily breached by gunfire, are schools relying on outdated safety measures instead of comprehensive security systems?
Silver Rail Elementary School Shooting: Timeline, Heroic Intervention, Victim Impact, and Policy Debate in the Wake of the October 15, 2026 Attack
Overview
On October 15, 2026, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II accessed a shotgun purchased by his mother, threw it over the fence at Silver Rail Elementary, and forced entry by shooting through locked doors. After firing at a pickup truck and entering a special-needs classroom, he shot multiple victims. An uninjured teacher bravely threw her phone and tackled him, slowing the attack. Parent Kaylub Giamanco, who witnessed the shooting outside, entered the classroom with his legally owned pistol and fatally shot the gunman. Police arrived within minutes, confirmed the shooter was dead, and began lifesaving efforts, while the community quickly organized support and memorials.