Oregon school shooter was former special needs student, police say

What the report says

Police and school officials in Oregon said a 16-year-old who killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend had previously been a special-needs student at the school. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz identified the suspect as Griffin J. John II and said the attack happened on Friday, one day after the shooting. Superintendent Steven Cook said John was not enrolled in the district at the time of the attack.

According to the officials quoted by Al Jazeera, the teenager entered a special-needs classroom and fired through locked doors with a 12-gauge shotgun. Krantz said as many as 15 shots were fired and that the gunman still had ammunition when he was killed. Police said they are still trying to determine how he got the weapon. Oregon law generally allows a minor to possess a shotgun if a parent provides it or consents.

Authorities said a teacher tried to stop the attacker by throwing her phone and tackling him, an act police described as likely life-saving. A parent, Kaylub Giamanco, then entered the school and shot the gunman dead minutes after the first emergency call. The victims were identified as three children ages five, eight and 11, and teacher Meghan Lambert, 25. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher remained in critical condition, underscoring the scale of the violence and the continued concern over school shootings in the United States.