SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Authorities continue to investigate a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Three children and one teacher were killed on Thursday. Two others, a 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher, are still being treated for their injuries. NPR criminal justice correspondent Jaclyn Diaz has been following the story. Jaclyn, thanks for being with us.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Yeah. Thank you for having me.
SIMON: And officials have shared new details about how the shooting apparently unfolded. What do we know?
DIAZ: Yeah. During a press briefing yesterday, police in Bend, Oregon, laid out the series of events leading up to the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. It started around 1 p.m. That's when a bystander in a red pickup truck spotted the shooter climbing a fence onto school property with a shotgun. The bystander confronted him, and the gunman shot at the truck multiple times. That man called 911.
Meanwhile, the gunman made his way to the building. The doors were locked, but he was able to get inside after he fired multiple rounds at the doors. A second bystander, a father of two children at the school, saw the shooting that unfolded moments earlier and pulled into the school parking lot. He grabbed his gun, which police say he carried in his car legally, and he followed the suspect into the school, shot and killed him. He's being hailed as a hero. His mother read a statement to reporters identifying him as lifelong Bend resident Kaylub Giamanco and said he asked for privacy during this difficult time.
Amid this chaos, there was yet another person who tried to stop the gunman. Here's Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz at yesterday's news conference.
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MIKE KRANTZ: A teacher in the classroom threw her cellphone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.
DIAZ: So as you can tell, there were multiple people who intervened here to try to stop this attack from becoming any worse than it was.
SIMON: Jaclyn, what have we learned about the shooter?
DIAZ: Well, he was 16 years old, and he was formerly a student in the school's special education program. This is notable because the shooting took place in a special education classroom. Police identified him as Griffin J. John II. They say he used a Maverick 88, which is 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Authorities say they've searched his home, and they're continuing to conduct interviews. After the shooting, police say they found the suspect's backpack at the scene and 44 more rounds of ammunition.
SIMON: And I understand not all the victims have been named publicly, but tell us, please, about them.
DIAZ: Yeah. Three children aged 5, 8 and 11 were killed. The 5-year-old was a boy named Rhoam Summer. Officials did not release the names of the other child victims at the request of their families. The teacher who was killed was 25-year-old Megan Lambert. She was from Bend. She had a passion for sports. She was a volleyball coach. Her family released a statement that officials read at Friday's briefing. They said the job at Silver Rail was her first teaching role, and it was her dream job. Here's police spokesperson Sheila Miller reading from the family's statement.
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SHEILA MILLER: (Reading) Megan was compassionate and had a huge heart. She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs. She was an incredible sister, daughter, niece and granddaughter.
DIAZ: The family says she was funny and opinionated and that she lit up the room.
SIMON: And watching the case, Jaclyn, what will you be watching for next?
DIAZ: Right. So authorities say this is very much an active criminal investigation and that it will take time. We're expecting more details to emerge about the shooter. Law enforcement officials will no doubt be looking more into who he was and what might've led him to carry out this horrible shooting.
Also the police chief said the weapon came from the shooter's home, but one question authorities are still digging into is how the teen got the gun. In the meantime, officials say hundreds of residents have already shown up at a local library to meet with crisis counselors as they grieve.
SIMON: NPR's Jaclyn Diaz. Thanks so much.
DIAZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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