Background: 

1. Silver Rail Elementary School is located in Bend, Oregon, and is part of the Bend-La Pine school district.
2. The school serves students K-5.
3. Approximately 450 students attend the school and about 40 staff members.
4. The attacker, Griffin J. John II, 16, previously attended Silver Rail and received special education services.
5. He also attended other district schools. His last enrollment in Bend-La Pine Schools was November 2025.
6. Investigators interviewed his parents and seized electronics from the home. They are examining those devices for evidence of planning and motive.
7. It is reported that his mother legally purchased the shotgun in August and gave it to him as a birthday gift.
8. The district had security cameras, controlled visitor access, and classroom locks that could be secured from inside.
9. The school conducted a lockdown drill approximately two weeks before the attack.
10. Its assigned school resource officer was at another school when the shooting occurred. That officer covered six or seven schools.
11. Silver Rail remains closed until further notice. Other district schools are scheduled to reopen Wednesday, October 21, on an early-release schedule, with increased police presence.

Timeline of Events: 

1. Approximately 12:58 p.m., Thursday, October 15: The attacker approached the rear of the school, threw his shotgun over a fence, and climbed onto school property.
2. A passing pickup driver confronted him. The attacker fired at the truck, striking it at least three times. The driver escaped and called 911.
3. 12:59 p.m.: Dispatch received the first emergency call.
4. 1:00 p.m.: Dispatch alerted all law enforcement.
5. 1:01 p.m.: Responding officers directed the school to lock down. This does not establish when individual classrooms were secured.
6. The attacker shot through glass panes in locked exterior double doors and entered the classroom immediately to the left.
7. The attacker opened fire in that special education classroom. All six people killed or wounded were shot there.
8. Three boys and one teacher were murdered: Rhoam Summer, 5; an 8-year-old boy; an 11-year-old boy; and Megan Lambert, 25. The two older boys’ names remain private at their families’ request.
9. The injured child has been identified as Saylor Graham, 7. She received lifesaving care and was taken to OHSU in Portland. Her last verified police-reported condition was serious but stable.
10. Becky Drury, 54, is an inclusion educational assistant. She required surgery for wounds to her left arm and right hand. Her husband reported Monday that she was improving but faced a long recovery.
11. Another adult and a child escaped unharmed. Police confirmed their survival but had not explained precisely how they escaped.
12. Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a father of two Silver Rail students, witnessed the confrontation outside, parked, retrieved his legally secured handgun, and followed the attacker.
13. Giamanco’s mother says he entered through a window the attacker had shot out.
14. A teacher threw her cellphone at him, tackled him, and fought for his shotgun. She survived without injury.
15. Giamanco found the teacher struggling with the attacker and fatally shot him.
16. 1:02 p.m.: Officers arrived. Moments later, an officer reported that the attacker had been shot.
17. Police recovered a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and approximately 44 unused rounds. The exact number of shots fired inside the classroom remains under investigation.

Still Not Established:

1. Whether the attacked classroom’s door was open, closed, or locked.
2. Whether the exterior glass had security film or another protective system.
3. Exactly when staff recognized the danger and began locking classrooms.
4. If a lockdown was called.
5. Whether prior threats, reports, or other indicators of danger were known before the attack.

Points to Consider 

1. Failsafe First

It took hours to clear the building. The attack lasted minutes. Being able to lock down in 7 seconds or less is priority number one.
It’s your failsafe, and your failsafe always comes first. 

For those who know me, you may have guessed that I was going to say engagement or building solid, loving relationships is number one. 

Those are a very close second. 

But immediately locking down in 7 seconds or less must be number one. 

The first few seconds of a crisis can control the outcome!
Don’t let the person trying to harm you have them! 

Own them. Control them. Make them yours! 

Many schools I visit are actively working on clearing and reunification plans while still not being able to lock down quickly. I’m not saying a solid reunification plan isn’t important. But there is a right order of priorities. 

We don’t have unlimited time, energy, or effort.
Spend it first on the skills that will save the most lives! 

You can work on all things simultaneously, but don’t give everything the same weight. 

Let me say it a different way. 

Whatever you’re working on right now—ask yourself: If you had only 3 minutes to take lifesaving action, would you keep working on it? 

If no, pause working on it—or better yet, hand it off to someone else—until you’ve mastered the most important skill. 

Locking down in 7 seconds or less. 

This attack lasted 180 seconds and four people were murdered and two seriously wounded. Register and implement the 7 Second Lockdown Materials.

Then call me, Zoom me in, and I’ll help you master your failsafe.

2. School Resource Officers

I live my life following the good, better, best strategy. 

One officer covering many schools is good.
It’s not ideal, but at least there’s one who can help on a daily basis. 

Having one in each school would be better. 

Now, if that SRO was well trained, prepared, and equipped, that would be the best. 

I know there are funding issues, police officer shortages, and other logistical concerns that must be worked through. 

This is just a gentle reminder of what I believe we should be working toward: one well-trained, prepared, and equipped officer, full-time, per school.

3. We are a good Team

We are cut from the same cloth—teachers and cops.
It may not always seem that way, but we are. 

In so many school shootings, there are teachers and school leaders who put their lives on the line—just like cops do. 

And there are cops who love their students and put their careers on hold to make a difference in the lives of young people. 

Both are brave. Both are noble. Both are the same, yet different. 

We should celebrate each other a little more.
Try to understand and support each other a little bit better. 

The teacher who fought the attacker should be recognized and honored. As should all teachers and cops who work every day to make our schools safe and loved.