A 16-year-old opened fire inside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killing three children and one teacher before a student's father shot and killed him. Two more people remain in critical condition.
CBS News identified the gunman as John Griffin Jr. III, citing two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. Those sources said the teen used a shotgun his mother had purchased. Police have not publicly stated a motive, and investigators remain in the early stages of reviewing his devices and online activity.
The attack hit a locked elementary campus on Thursday. By Friday, the civilian who ended it had been named, and the legal and public-safety questions had sharpened: how a minor got the gun, how fast the threat was stopped, and what evidence shows about planning.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters Thursday night that the gunman got in by "shooting at locked doors." Krantz said the children killed were ages 5, 8, and 11. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized with critical injuries.
Officers answered 911 calls from the school within minutes and found the gunman already dead, along with other victims inside. Krantz said a bystander pursued the attacker, engaged him, and shot him dead. Police have not said whether the 16-year-old had any prior connection to Silver Rail Elementary.
One of the children killed has been identified as 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, based on fundraisers and a social media post from his father. Authorities have not released the names of the other children killed or the teacher who died.
The bystander is Kaylub Giamanco, a Bend resident whose family identified him in a Friday statement. He has two daughters who attend the school. His family said he wants no spotlight.
In that statement, the family said, "He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel, and community for the outpouring of love and support,"
Just The News reported that Giamanco is 36, works as a carpenter, and holds a concealed-carry permit. The outlet reported he was driving home for lunch when he heard gunshots, saw the gunman enter the school, and moved to stop him, including activity tied to the special education room. The same report said Griffin's mother had bought the gun used in the attack around the teen's August birthday.
Giamanco's brother, Kyle Giamanco, described him as a hero who has avoided speaking publicly and does not feel like one because he could not save more lives.
The shooting unfolded just after 1 p.m., and radio traffic captured how quickly the scene changed. The New York Post reported emergency dispatch audio in which a voice said, “Looks like the shooter has been neutralized, possibly shot by a father at the school.”
That sequence matches what Chief Krantz described later Thursday night: the civilian engagement came before officers fully entered and found the gunman dead. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek addressed the man who stepped in, saying, “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.”
For parents and policymakers, the operational point is blunt. An armed father on scene ended the killing before police arrival completed the response. The cost was still catastrophic: four dead and two clinging to life.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News the weapon was a shotgun purchased by the gunman's mother. No charging documents, purchase records, or formal findings about that transfer appear in the public account so far. Investigators have not released a full explanation of how the 16-year-old obtained the gun that day, where it was stored, or whether any adult faced immediate legal exposure tied to the purchase.
Those same sources said agents and detectives are combing through the suspect's computer, phone, social media, search history, and other online activity. They are examining whether he showed an obsession with violence, including prior mass shootings. Officials stressed that work is preliminary. No public results have been released about specific search terms, manifestos, targets, or prior threats.
Motive remains unconfirmed. Investigators will need to determine whether the attack was planned against that campus, whether any warning signs reached adults, and whether school security layers delayed entry long enough for the bystander response that followed.
Three children and one teacher were killed. The children were 5, 8, and 11. Rhoam Summer, 5, is the only child publicly named through his father's post and related fundraisers. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher remain in critical condition. Authorities have not released the identity of the teacher who was killed or fuller identities for the other child victims beyond the ages Krantz provided.
That gap matters for the public record. Families need verified names and accounts. The city needs a clear timeline of 911 traffic, door breaches, and the exact moment Giamanco fired. None of those clock-minute details have been released in full.
Police say they reached the school quickly after the 911 calls. They also say the gunman was already down because a civilian acted. That fact will drive the after-action review as much as any curriculum debate.
Key questions sit with investigators and prosecutors, not cable panels. Did locked doors slow the attacker as designed. Did any staff protocol buy seconds that mattered. How did a minor end up with a shotgun bought by his mother. What, if anything, turned up on his phone and computer about prior shootings. Police have not said whether Griffin had a school connection, so that point remains an open investigative requirement rather than a settled fact.
Giamanco's family has asked for the focus to stay on first responders, school staff, and the community. His brother's comments underline the weight that lands on the person who fires the stopping shot and still counts the dead.
Because the gunman is dead, there will be no trial of the shooter. The live legal track centers on evidence preservation, the firearm trail, and any adult conduct tied to access to the gun. Law enforcement sources have described the mother as the purchaser. That is an investigative claim at this stage, not a courtroom finding.
Device forensics and interview work will shape whether additional people face charges, and on what theory. For now, officials have described collection and review, not completed conclusions. The public has ages for the child victims, one child named through family channels, confirmation of a teacher killed, two critical survivors, and a named civilian who used a lawfully carried firearm under a concealed-carry permit to stop further carnage.
Bend is left with funerals, hospital vigils, and a case file that still has to answer basic possession and planning questions without turning rumor into record.
When killers target locked classrooms, the difference between a longer body count and a stopped attack can turn on a nearby citizen who is armed, willing, and close enough to act. Soft-target security and adult accountability for a minor's access to a shotgun are not abstract talking points after a day like this. They are the standard by which institutions will be judged.
