Griffin J. John II and the 2026 Silver Rail Elementary School Shooting
Overview
On the afternoon of October 15, 2026, a 16-year-old former student returned to Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, armed with a shotgun. In a brutal attack that lasted only three minutes, Griffin J. John II shot his way into the building and opened fire inside a special education classroom. He killed three young boys and a teacher and severely wounded another student and a teaching assistant. The rampage was stopped when a father of two other students, who had witnessed the attack begin, followed the shooter into the school with his own handgun and shot him dead. The incident, which ended with five dead including the perpetrator, sent shockwaves through the Bend community and reignited national debates about school security and gun access.
The Attack on Silver Rail Elementary
The assault began just before 1:00 p.m. on what was picture day at the school. Griffin John, dressed in black, was first seen in the school parking lot. He confronted a man in a red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, firing a 12-gauge Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun at the vehicle at least six times. The driver was not hit. John then fired at a person mowing the school's lawn before throwing his shotgun over a fence onto school grounds, climbing over, and retrieving it.
At 1:00 p.m., dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls. John moved to a set of locked double doors and blasted through the glass panels to force entry. He immediately targeted the first room to his left, a special education classroom where four adults and five children were present.
Inside the classroom, educational assistant Becky Drury heard the noise and went to the door. Seeing John, she rushed back in and tried to shut the door, but he shot her at close range. Drury was grievously wounded and pretended to be dead on the floor. As chaos erupted, another teacher in the room tackled John and threw her cell phone at him, wrestling with him for the weapon. During this struggle, John fired indiscriminately, killing three students and teacher Megan Lambert. He fired as many as 15 rounds in total, using three different types of ammunition.
The entire attack, from the first 911 call to the moment the perpetrator was killed, lasted approximately three minutes. Police officers arrived on the scene at 1:02 p.m., just as the shooting had ended.
The Hero in the Hallway
The shooting was brought to an end not by law enforcement, but by a civilian. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter and father of two Silver Rail students, was driving home for lunch when he witnessed John firing at the pickup truck. Giamanco immediately pulled over and called 911, but told the dispatcher, "I'm sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die."
Giamanco, who had a concealed carry permit, retrieved his .40-caliber handgun from his vehicle. He army-crawled toward the school entrance to avoid being seen, hearing children pleading for their lives followed by gunfire. He entered the building by crawling through the shattered glass of the door John had destroyed. Peeking through a window into the special needs classroom, he saw John struggling with the teacher.
Seeing a clear shot, Giamanco opened the classroom door and fired once. John fell to the floor, and the teacher ran from the room. As John scrambled to retrieve his shotgun, Giamanco fired two more times, killing him. Police and community leaders later credited Giamanco and the teacher who fought the gunman with saving countless lives through their heroic and selfless actions.
The Victims
Four lives were lost in the attack, and two others were seriously injured.
- Megan Lambert, 25 — A special education teacher and volleyball coach, she was killed inside her classroom protecting her students.
- Rhoam Summer, 5 — The youngest victim, remembered by his family for his long, curly hair. His death left his family "broken and lost."
- An 8-year-old boy — A student in the special education class whose family requested his name not be released.
- A 11-year-old boy — A student in the special education class whose family requested his name not be released.
Two others were hospitalized with critical injuries. Becky Drury, a 54-year-old educational assistant, was shot at close range and suffered a near-severing of her left hand and injuries to her right arm, requiring multiple surgeries. Saylor Graham, a 7-year-old student, was also critically injured but was released from the intensive care unit about a week after the shooting.
The Perpetrator
Griffin J. John II was a 16-year-old former student of Silver Rail Elementary, where he had been enrolled in the special education program. He was not currently a student in the Bend-La Pine School District at the time of the attack. John was an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
His childhood was marked by instability and violence. His father, Griffin J. John Sr., had a criminal record that included assaulting a police officer and illegal weapons possession, struggled with addiction, and was largely absent from his son's life. His mother, Shauntai Nickerson, was herself a victim of domestic violence. In 2020, she had spoken to a local news station about her son's struggles with remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of him receiving in-person help from skilled special education teachers.
The shotgun used in the attack was legally purchased by Nickerson in August 2026, around the time of her son's birthday. In the years prior, Nickerson had twice been accused of assault, though neither case resulted in a conviction that would have prohibited her from buying a firearm.
Investigation and Motive
The motive for the shooting remains under investigation. Police executed a search warrant on the apartment where John lived with his mother, collecting evidence. Investigators have looked into whether he was connected to any extremist groups, but no definitive motive has been publicly established.
John's history as a former special needs student at the school and his decision to target that specific classroom suggest a personal grievance may have been a factor. He carried 44 additional rounds of ammunition in a backpack and on his person, indicating he planned for a much larger massacre.
The investigation also focused on how John acquired the gun. Under Oregon law, a parent can legally provide a long gun to a 16- or 17-year-old. Following the shooting, prosecutors began weighing whether charges could be brought against John's mother, a complex legal question that would require evidence she was aware of her son's violent intentions and disregarded the risks.
Aftermath and Legacy
In the days following the tragedy, the Bend community gathered to mourn. A makeshift memorial of flowers and messages grew outside Silver Rail Elementary School. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians issued a statement expressing heartbreak over the loss of life and extending condolences to the victims' families and the entire community.
Kaylub Giamanco was hailed as a hero, with President Donald Trump praising his decisive action. In an interview, however, Giamanco expressed profound regret and sorrow. "I want to apologize for not saving their babies," he said of the victims' families. "The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome. But there were ones that I didn't save."
The shooting at Silver Rail Elementary left a permanent scar on the community of Bend, a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of schools and the devastating impact of a few minutes of violence. It highlighted the complex web of factors that can lead to such an event, from an individual's troubled history and access to firearms to the split-second decisions of ordinary people forced to confront extraordinary evil.
