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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Officials Give Update On Oregon School Shooting; Police Chief: Three Boys, 25-Year-Old Teacher Were Killed; Republicans On Defense As Democrats Seek To Flip Key Seats. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 16, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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[17:00:40]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING News.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Jake Tapper. We start with breaking news in our National Lead. In just moments, police in Bend, Oregon will provide an update on Thursday's deadly mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. So many questions remain unanswered as the Bend community grapples with such a horrific act of violence.
This is a parent's worst nightmare on what was supposed to be school picture day, no less, a teacher and three kids ages five, eight and 11 are dead. Five, eight and 11. A seven-year old child and another teacher identified as Becky Drury are in the hospital with critical injuries.
The 16 year old shooter is also dead, shot and killed by Kaylub Giamanco, a father whose two daughters go to Silver Rail Elementary. A source tells CNN the parents of the shooter told investigators their son previously had attended the school. Earlier today on a balcony smoking and crying, the shooter's mother told CNN, quote, "I miss my boy. I'm so sorry."
A senior law enforcement official tells CNN the shotgun used in the shooting had been purchased by that suspect's mother. CNN's Nick Watt reports from Bend, Oregon with more on how this tragedy unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHY SHEIL SMITH, 5TH GRADE TEACHER, SILVER RAIL ELEMENTARY: They were so afraid. Looks on their faces was really hard to see. Some kids were praying. Some kids were consoling other kids. And so -- but they were doing so quietly because they know you don't make any noise.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifth grade teacher Kathy Smith saw the teenage shooter carrying a rifle through her classroom window. This was all over in about three minutes. Three kids and a teacher dead. The shooter dead, killed by a local father, two kids in the school himself who saw the shooter walk into the school and followed him.
SMITH: That person saw something, they did something and that took its own courage. I just figured, OK, today is a day that I'm sure that every teacher at the school thought today is the day that I am going to die. Save my kids.
WATT (voice-over): Investigators searched the shooter's home, took away computers and other electronics, interviewed the parents. They were, a law enforcement official tells us, cooperative and confirmed their son did once attend Silver Rail Elementary where it was picture day yesterday. A 10-year-old student described to ABC several minutes of fright.
AIZEN, STUDENT, SILVER RAIL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: We didn't really take it in as a gunshot. And then maybe 10 to 20 seconds later, we heard more gunshots. And this -- and that time, we definitely knew it was a gunshot. I locked the door and I went back behind our lockers as all my classmates did the same. All of my classmates and my teacher were safe, but we were definitely scared, and most people were crying, and it was really hard.
WATT (voice-over): He locked the door. The district started installing new locks in 2022 that allow classrooms to be locked from the inside. The gunmen, we're told, shot through locked doors as he tried to get into the school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's bad enough when an adult does something heinous like this, but for another, basically, child to do it, it -- you just can't understand it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Let's go straight to Bend, Oregon, where officials are giving an update on this deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary.
CHIEF MIKE KRANTZ, BEND POLICE DEPARTMENT: -- to each and every one of you and I know our community supports you. Yesterday was a terrible day for our community, and I appreciate the thousands of people who showed up at last night's vigil at Drake Park because you care about each other and that mattered. Some of you brought food, some of you brought questions, and some of you just came to be close to other people sharing your same grief. Deputy Chief Kansky and I attended this event, and I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love being shown neighbor to neighbor. That is what our community looks like.
To our first responders who showed up in the hardest hours, we saw all that you did, and we are grateful. You ran towards the worst thing any first responder can ever confront in our work with courage and compassion. Thank you.
[17:05:12]
To the people who showed courage in the face of such violence and intervened to prevent this tragedy from being any worse, we owe you a debt of gratitude. And to the school district personnel who follow protocol with lockdown, evacuation and reunification to keep your students and staff as safe as possible, thank you for your help.
I know many of you are asking hard questions and some of you are angry, scared and simply exhausted. Those are all valid feelings. The Bend Police Department, with all of our partners, are diligently working to answer all the questions and conduct a very thorough investigation.
Today I'm going to share specifics to this investigation that are hard, they're hard to hear and they're hard to accept. Our goal is to share vetted information that we can stand behind and be sure of and not to speculate. This is still an active and open investigation and my goal is to be as open with information that I can while not jeopardizing any piece of this case.
To write a recap of yesterday's information that I released last night. At 12:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, Deschutes County dispatch received a 911 call from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun. Dispatch received dozens of 911 calls reporting that a shooter had entered the building at Silver Rail Elementary School on Southeast Stone Creek Lane in Bend. Dispatch used a tone to alert all law enforcement at 1:00 p.m., one minute later, officers responding to the scene directed the school to go into lockdown at 1:01 p.m.
Our first officers arrived on scene at 1:02 and moments later an officer reported the suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him, shooting him several times.
Five people succumbed to their injuries at the scene, including the suspect. The deceased at the school scene included three children ages five, eight and 11 and one 25-year-old teacher. One seven-year-old child and one 54-year-old teacher were transported by Bend Fire to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries. All students and staff at the scene were transported by Bend-La Pine Schools buses to Journey Church for reunification with families and guardians.
The new information I want to share today, a little bit of a recap as well. At approximately 12:58 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, two vehicles were traveling westbound on Brentwood Avenue near Silver Rail Elementary School near the square box number one. At that time, the suspect approached the fence area of the school from an undeveloped area near Nina Avenue. The suspect crossed the street, threw his weapon over the fence and climbed the fence onto the school property. The driver of a red Toyota pickup truck witnessed this and verbally confronted the suspect. The suspect fired at the pickup, striking it at least three times. After the red pickup was fired upon, the driver continued down the street and made the initial 911 call.
The driver of a second vehicle, a 36-year-old man whose children do attend the school, also witnessed this initial shooting incident. He drove into the elementary school parking lot where square number two is.
The suspect walked westbound along the south side of the school and forced entry through an external set of double doors near number three. He fired multiple rounds into the glass panes in the doors to gain access to the school. The suspect went directly into the classroom immediately to the left of the entry doors where he fired as many as 15 rounds overall. Although the exact number fired in the classroom is still under investigation, all of the victims were shot in that classroom. Three types of ammunition were used by the suspect over the course of this incident.
All 12 gauge birdshot, buckshot and slugs.
The 36-year-old man who parked at the school took out a 40 caliber pistol that was legally secured in his vehicle and carried it towards the school. As he made entry through the forced open doors, he heard shooting and saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect. He then went to the classroom where the struggle was underway and fired his weapon, striking the suspect multiple times.
[17:10:01]
In the classroom, an injured seven-year-old girl who was receiving lifesaving care at the scene is currently receiving treatment at OHSU. She is in serious but stable condition. The injured 54-year-old female teacher suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and is currently receiving treatment in St. Charles Bend. Officers and medics on scene attempted lifesaving care on one boy at the scene.
Two other children, both boys and a teacher were deceased when officers arrived. The five-year-old boy is identified at the request of his family as Rhoam Summer. At the request of the other involved families, we will not be releasing the identity of the child victims.
The teacher who was killed and has been identified is 25-year-old Meghan Lambert of Bend and we will share her family's statement at the close of this press conference.
Arriving officers on scene located a Maverick 88 pump action 12 gauge shotgun near the suspect as well as a backpack. In total, the suspect had approximately 44 remaining rounds of 12 gauge ammunition on his person or in his backpack.
In addition to the 36-year-old man who bravely stepped in to stop the suspect, I want to highlight another person whose heroic action we need to recognize. A teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone 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.
Part of this investigation, we activated the major incident team. Roughly 150 law enforcement and first responder personnel have been involved in this investigation and we are thankful for their assistance.
There are too many to name, but I'd like to give a special thank you to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Redmond Police Department, Oregon State Police, the FBI, the ATF and multiple other partners from far and wide from around the state and our federal partners who have come to support us through this very difficult situation.
Our crime scene analysts completed a digital scan of the entire scene last night. We have collected evidence and executed a search warrant at the home of the suspect and interviews are ongoing. Officers on scene this morning completed a second walkthrough of the scene to determine if there's additional evidence.
Our team has not -- does not intend to relinquish the school crime scene until Tuesday of next week at the earliest to ensure our search for evidence is complete. The FBI's Victim Assistance Advocates will work with the school district to assist people who want to collect their belongings from the unaffected areas of the building.
We will identify the suspect in this cane one time -- in this case, one time. I will not say his name again. The suspect has identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. He previously attended Silver Rail Elementary and we believe he traveled to the school on foot, although that route remains under current investigation. He is not currently enrolled at Ben-La Pine Schools.
How the suspect got the weapon and ammunition remains part of the active criminal investigation and I will not be able to address any of that portion today. This remains a very active investigation. And while we know that you have many questions, not all of them will be answered today. And some of them may never be answered.
Please hold the victims of this tragedy, the family and your community in your hearts with me. Support them, support each other and use the resources that will be mentioned today if you need them. Thank you.
KIM KATCHUR, DESCHUTES COUNTY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: Thank you, Chief Krantz. Next we will hear from Superintendent Steve Cook.
STEVEN COOK, BEND-LA PINE SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: Today I'm coming to you after meeting with the Silver Rail Elementary staff. They're in so much pain, as we all are. They were gathered to support each other, to share and to comfort each other. I assure you this tragedy has had a substantial impact to them and all of our school employees. They're grieving the loss of a colleague and three of our students.
Like our families, our staff need time and privacy and so much support right now. I soon hope to be speaking with the families of the victims as well. As Chief mentioned, Victims Assistance is engaging with the families currently. I want our families to hear directly from me that we stand with them and we support them. [17:15:02]
To all of our Silver Rail families, we are deeply committed to supporting you through every stage of this crisis. This has been a terrifying and traumatic experience that will affect us all profoundly for years to come. I want to thank them all for their courage, for their support, and for their care for one another during this time.
Silver Rail families are showing our community how to wrap our arms around our children, to comfort and love and remind them that the adults in their schools and in their lives deeply care about them.
I also need to acknowledge our staff member who fought for the safety of the children, who engaged the suspect. I also need to acknowledge the community member who risked life by entering the school and did not hesitate to step in. Thank you both for intervening on behalf of our students. I believe your actions saved lives.
Today in the days ahead, we are focused primarily on crisis response and support to everyone in our community and to anyone who's seeking help. The initial reports of the crisis counseling that are going on at Central Library has been that hundreds have shown up to receive that support. We will continue to provide access for this community. We are in the process and will begin as soon as law enforcement allows us to, once the investigation is complete, to investigate our own emergency response procedures, all of our safety planning and everything that is relevant to this event and investigation.
Bend-La Pine Schools has invested heavily in school safety, secure entries, door locks, security cameras, security fencing. And we have a wonderful partnership with Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Bend Police Department. We practice lockdowns with students and staff twice a year. In every school, we train with law enforcement and emergency responders every year. Rest assured, we will take a hard look at everything and -- that we have done and what more needs to be done to ensure that our students, our staff and our families are safe in our schools.
Thank you.
KATCHUR: Thank you, Superintendent.
Finally, I'd like to invite up Holly Harris. She is the Deschutes County Health Services Director.
HOLLY HARRIS, DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTOR: Good afternoon. My name is Holly Harris. I am the director of Deschutes County Health Services.
First, I want to acknowledge the profound grief, fear and pain our community is experiencing. We are mourning the children and educator whose lives were lost, and we hold their families, loved ones, classmates, colleagues and everyone affected close in our hearts.
Today, I'm here to share the support available to students and families, school staff, first responders and all community members impacted by this tragedy. Our community has responded with extraordinary compassion. We have received offers of assistance from local partners, businesses, individuals, the Oregon Health Authority, elected officials and the governor's office. And we are deeply grateful for that care and support.
We have set up a link on the Deschutes County webpage at deschutescounty.gov where individuals who are trained to offer mental health supports can sign up and offer their services. We ask that you utilize the form and we will follow up with you. Please do not head directly to the locations where services are being provided.
Deschutes County Health Services is providing immediate support today and will continue to be here in the days and weeks ahead. Earlier today, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bend Central Library, we provided support to well over 100 individuals. I think it was close to 200 individuals and families. A second support event will be held this afternoon from 4: 00 to 7:00 at Larkspur Community Center. Additional support will be available on Saturday from 1:00 to 6:00 and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00, also at Larkspur Community Center.
We are actively working to set up additional supports for the weeks ahead and will share the locations and times for those events as soon as they become available.
[17:20:04]
These services are free and open to all students, families, school staff and community members. Trained professionals will be available to provide safe, compassionate space, help people understand common reactions to trauma and connect individuals with in -- with additional support and resources.
If you have been affected, please know you do not have to face this alone. Seeking help is a sign of strength and support is available.
For immediate crisis support, the Deschutes County Stabilization center is open 24/7. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available 24 hours a day by call or text.
In the days ahead, we will continue to stand with one another, care for one another and help carry one another through this unimaginable loss. Please make use of these resources and share with anyone you are concerned about or that has been affected. Thank you.
KATCHUR: Thank you, Holly.
I want to highlight Rhoam Summer's family provided an image of him. We will include this image and the following image in a press release that we will put out after this. Probably be out within the hour after this press conference.
And I would like to share Meghan Lambert's family statement. There's Rhoam.
To tell you about who Meghan was would take 25 years. Meghan was a native Central Oregonian. She grew up in Bend. She has a passion -- she had a passion for playing sports, especially volleyball. She was a volleyball coach.
She actually turned down pay for her first season as a coach so families who couldn't afford to participate could have the chance to play the sport she loved. Her goal was to be an educator and teach in the school district she loved growing up in. She graduated from Mountain View High School in 2019. She graduated from Boise State in May of 2023.
She traveled abroad to Barcelona, Spain with TEFL Iberia. Silver Rail was her first job as a teacher though she subbed there for many years before through High Desert ESD. She loved Silver Rail. This was her dream job.
Meghan 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. Her friends became her family. She was funny and opinionated and she lit up the room.
We want the bystander who intervened to know we know he is going through a rough time but we are grateful and we think he is a hero. You selflessly put yourself at risk for others.
We would like the other families to know they are in our thoughts and prayers. Meghan loved those children and so we will show you love for her.
The rest of the families and in fact all of the families have asked for privacy. They provided this and would ask you to keep that private -- to keep private beyond what we've shared today.
As I mentioned, we will have a press release coming out shortly after this press conference. We now have some time for some questions. I'm going to ask you to raise your hand, provide your name and the name of the media agency that you are with. I will do my best to get to most of you and I'm going to repeat the question.
So I'll start with Peter.
PETER MADSEN, THE SOURCE WEEKLY INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Thank you. Peter Madsen. The Source Newspaper. Is Griffin the first or last name of the suspect?
KATCHUR: Griffin is the first name, and I noticed that many people got it wrong. So I appreciate those of you who waited.
Spencer.
SPENCER: Spencer (inaudible). I'd like to ask more about the standard response procedure, specifically how the school uses lockdown drills versus active shooters drills to prepare? And second, what technology is in place to assist in the response?
KATCHUR: Thank you, Spencer. First, I want to go back and say I apologize. I said I would repeat the question and then I didn't. Spencer asked if the first name of the suspect was Griffin. Peter asked that. Spencer is asking about the standard operating procedure for lockdown at schools. I think I'll give that to you, Steve.
COOK: Yes. Could you repeat the question?
SPENCER: How the school uses lockdown drills versus active shooter drills to prepare? Second, what technology is in place to assist in response?
COOK: So we use the I love you guys, standard response protocol. And we practice lockdown drills. Every school practices lockdown drills twice a year. We coordinate those typically with our SROs. And so we have law enforcement on site, especially when we do the first one.
[17:25:06]
The first one is typically in every school scheduled during the first 30 days of school. And in this case, Silver Rail had theirs about two weeks ago, and four of our SROs were present.
As far as technology goes, the -- probably the most significant thing is the district replaced every door lock in each of our schools, so that the door locks are visible from any place in the classroom to ensure that they are locked and don't require exiting the classroom to lock a door. That's probably the best on the technology piece.
KATCHUR: Matt.
MATT MCDONALD, CENTRAL OREGON DAILY GENERAL MANAGER: Matt McDonald, Central Oregon Daily news. Can you answer, was the classroom he entered a special needs classroom? And was the suspect ever was student in that classroom?
KATCHUR: The question is, was the classroom a special needs classroom and was the student ever a student in that classroom?
COOK: I can answer that. That classroom was a special needs classroom and the suspect was a special needs student in that school.
KATCHUR: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible). Can you clarify the age group in that special needs classroom? Was it a mix? And then also just, more important, if there is any warning signs (inaudible) mental health issues?
KATCHUR: Sure. The question is, was the classroom a mixed age grade, mixed age classroom? And then the second question was whether there were any warning signs on the suspect's part.
I'll let you answer the first and you answer the second.
COOK: I believe the answer to the first question is yes, there were students of different ages in the classroom at the time of the shooting. KRANTZ: As far as addressing any mental health -- mental health questions or warning signs, that is currently part of the act of an open investigation that we'll be determining as we can.
KATCHUR: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) News. Is it true that the shooter first tried to get into the high school but the door was locked?
KATCHUR: Which high school?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caldera High School.
KATCHUR: Her question is whether the shooter attempted to access Caldera High School before going to Silver Rail Elementary. And I do not have any indication that that is correct.
Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, (inaudible) with the Washington Post. Thank you for doing this briefing.
Could you share anything that you have learned about the suspect's background and what the motive for such a shooting may have been? That's number one. I mean, his mother spoke to some outlets, you know, said she was surprised at what happened. But I assume that you have done some interviews by this point and because I think this is what everybody wants to know, why. That's number one.
And number two, everyone I know I have spoken to has said that the security of the school was excellent, as the superintendent said, and yet, you know, how could it be that, you know, just within seconds, a gun can break -- could have broken through multiple locks in this very, very secure school. And I'm just wondering how you battle with that. What can possibly be done?
KATCHUR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
KATCHUR: Can you repeat your first -- oh, the first question from the Washington Post was anything about his background that we have learned that we have not shared that we would like to share.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. That speaks for a moment.
KATCHUR: Sure.
KRANTZ: Yes. Your question is relevant in that everyone wants to know why, including us. And I think that's one of the most challenging parts of these types of investigations and cases is determining the why and the motives. And that is part of the current very active, as I said, open investigation that we're working on. And it require or will require substantial investigative time to continue that.
But that is the answer we're seeking as well. And as I said before, we may never get that full answer, but we want it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you learned -- what have you learned about his background that -- even though I know you don't know what the motive is --
KRANTZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- but was he from a troubled family? Were his parents, you know, split, divorced, were the two parents in the family, you know, that kind of -- those kinds of things?
KRANTZ: Yes. And unfortunately at this point, we're not able to release any of those details as it's still --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
KRANTZ: -- still part of that --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Another thing --
KRANTZ: -- open case. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- and then security question that refers to --
KATCHUR: Yes. The second question was about how the door was able to be breached. Go ahead.
COOK: Yes, I'm not sure I can really answer any of that with confidence at this point. I think we're going to do a lot of reviewing of our procedures and we will -- we will find that out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
KATCHUR: Aaron.
AARON WEST, NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER: Aaron West with the New York Times. I am curious -- oh, and first of all, thanks for all your support (inaudible).
[17:30:00]
I was curious about the bystander, what he's doing there as far as the series of events and during that time as well. I think you mentioned he followed him into school. If you could talk a little bit more about that. As well as, I believe, Holly mentioned that he's going to --
KATCHUR: Sure. The question was, why was the bystander there? I believe he was passing through. And the second question is about, it was in Megan Lambert's family statement that she -- they assume he's having a rough time. I can imagine that everyone would assume that. That's a really difficult thing and a brave thing to do. But I do not have -- we -- I believe that he was simply passing by and in the area. Joni?
JONI LAND, LEGAL AFFAIRS AND GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER, OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING: Joni Land, Portland Public Broadcasting. Can you tell us any more about the firearm itself that was used? Whether it was legally purchased or whether it was a family action?
KATCHUR: The question was, any further detail about the firearm? If it was legally purchased and if there were additional firearms located in the home.
KRANTZ: Thank you. Again, it's a Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun was the firearm the suspect was using. And currently, the origin of that possession is what we're working on. How did someone come into possession of it? How was it in the home? And at this point, we're not able to release additional details for that piece of the investigation.
KATCHUR: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you get some details on the mental health services being provided to the children in the school? Not just in the short term, but in the months to come?
KATCHUR: Sure. The question is about mental health services to children who are at the school now and going into the future. Steve?
COOK: Yes, the crisis counseling will be available for students as long as necessary. We're coordinating that right now. As you can imagine, we have lots of resources entering our community to support our students. We have counselors at our schools and we will continue to build that out over time. Right now, the needs are very acute. And so we're coordinating the work of, I think, federal support and state support and county support to provide those resources to our students.
KATCHUR: Yes, sir. You.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you clarify exactly where the shooter was when he was neutralized and who was present?
KATCHUR: The shooter was in the classroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
KATCHUR: Oh, I'm sorry. The question was where the shooter was when he was neutralized. The shooter was in the classroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who was present? Other students as well? Do you want to answer that? The question is were there other students in the classroom who witnessed it?
KRANTZ: As far as we understand at this point, there were no additional students in the classroom other than the victims. And that shooting had occurred already when the citizen had engaged the suspect.
KATCHUR: Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
KATCHUR: The question is, is there a plan in place for the children who attend Silver Rail Elementary in the upcoming weeks? COOK: That is a work in progress.
KATCHUR: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
KATCHUR: The question is if the chief can speak to the heroism that our bystander and our teacher showed.
KRANTZ: You know, I don't think we can underestimate or underappreciate that courage. When someone is willing to risk their own life for others, we recognize that. And the quick thinking to observe, to then park and follow someone into the school is incredible and undoubtedly saves people.
And that is something that if it came natural as a protective father, that's terrific. The teacher who is willing to stand and fight for her children, incredible. And I think we all recognize that that is true heroism. And we don't see that a lot in society. And we recognize it when we need to. And our community appreciates it.
[17:35:14]
KATCHUR: We have time for a couple more. In the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
KATCHUR: The question was the suspect, a former student in the classroom at Silver Rail Elementary. We cannot confirm that. Is that correct? OK. A couple more. I'm going to go behind. Yep, there you go. Sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
KATCHUR: The question is about the teacher who intervened and attempted to disarm the suspect. And was that person separate from the teacher injured and the teacher killed? And that is correct. It is a third person. OK. I'm going to do two more. Spencer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two questions. One, was there an SRO officer first present at Silver Elementary on this yesterday? Number two, there's been a lot of speculation over the name of the bystanders. Can you confirm who the bystander is?
KATCHUR: So the first question is, was there an SRO on campus yesterday at Silver Rail Elementary? My understanding is that the SRO was not at Silver Rail. That SRO oversees six or seven schools, and so was at a nearby school. Your second question was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm confirming the identity of the bystander.
KATCHUR: I see. No, we're not going to confirm the identity of the bystander. That person did not give us permission to use their name. And my last question will go to Matt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have two really fast. KATCHUR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman in the red truck wasn't injured, that's the first question. And the second question is, other than the fact that he was here carrying 44 additional rounds, any indication that he had further targets beyond Silver Rail or within Silver Rail?
KATCHUR: OK. The first question was, was the person in the red vehicle injured? No. No. No. And your second question is, beyond the amount of rounds, was there any indication that this person was going to go elsewhere?
KRANTZ: And as you can imagine, part of the investigation is to look at all potential evidence and that takes some time through a variety of search warrants and seizures of evidence and then reviewing that evidence. So at this point, we have no indication that I could share that and we'll certainly be looking for that type of evidence as we continue through the investigation.
KATCHUR: I want to thank you guys. I know there's a lot more questions. I will stay here if people have questions and they would like to ask me off camera or now that the press conference has ended. Thank you very much. We appreciate you being here. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: We've been listening to law enforcement and school officials at times becoming emotional there in Bend, Oregon, providing updates on the horrific shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School yesterday. The chief of police there in Bend, Mike Krantz, describing a terrible day for our community as he revealed the names of some of the victims.
One of them, a five-year-old identified as Rhoam Summer, one of the three young victims killed. The families of the other two victims, an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old, declined to make their names public at this time. Another victim was Megan Lambert. She was a 25-year-old teacher at Silver Rail.
Officials shared her photo. They explained that she grew up in Bend. This was her first teaching job and school officials described it as her dream job. All of the victims were apparently shot in the same classroom where the suspect entered the school. It was a special needs classroom with students of different ages. Bend's police chief also shared new information about the suspect, specifically making a point to name him only once.
That suspect is 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former special needs student at the school who investigators learned walked over to campus with a shotgun and was spotted by two drivers when he threw the shotgun over a fence and then was yelled at by these drivers, by at least one of these drivers. He confronted them. He opened fire.
Another one of those drivers was a father of two students at the school. He will come into play later because he later entered the school with a 40 caliber pistol and ended this nightmare. Investigators were asked about a possible motive. That, officials said, is now part of the investigation. The Chief Krantz acknowledged that may be a question that never gets answered. [17:39:59]
We also got more details on the timeline of what happened. So let's walk through that right now with CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller. We also have former police captain Josh Schirard with us and CNN's Nick Watt in Bend, Oregon, who was at the news conference. John, first to you, what new information stood out most to you that we just learned from officials?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, some of the picture is coming together with a little more granularity. What we learned is he went into a special needs classroom. We also learned that in the course of our reporting today that he had been a special needs student, likely in that classroom that he had attended back in 2020 during COVID. And after that, that he brought a Maverick 88 compact pump shotgun.
That's a kind of a cut down version that's meant for young shooters. It's a little bit shorter, but that he also brought 59 rounds. So, you know, as he went through the killing of three children, a wounding of a teacher, the killing of another teacher, it appears that he brought enough ammunition to indicate he meant to do a lot more killing potentially, had he not been interrupted by that community member who followed him into the school and engaged him with a 40 caliber pistol.
So we learned a few things that made the picture of the terrible tragedy a little richer in terms of detail. But we still have a gap and the gap is still motive. As the chief said, we don't know. We may never know because the suspect is dead. But one of the reasons they're going through all of his electronics, going through the chats that he was in and different platforms issuing subpoenas and preservation orders for social media is if the motive is hidden in there somewhere, they want to know it.
SANCHEZ: Now, Josh, obviously, this is a tragedy and the loss of life is horrible. It could have been much worse were not for the heroism of two individuals that were singled out by the police chief. First, that 36-year-old father who entered the school saw the gunman walking into the school and responded by engaging with him. And secondly, a teacher that we learned tried to fight this shooter. The police chief saying that they are true heroes. I wonder what stands out to you about their response to this.
JOSH SCHIRARD, DIRECTOR, BYRNA LAW ENFORCEMENT: You're absolutely right. As someone who's spent over 15 years training law enforcement, schools, civilians, how to respond to active shooters and active attacks, and even being the on scene commander for one of the deadliest high school shootings in Texas, this community serves as an example of exactly what can happen if people are involved, if people understand that they have a duty to protect those in their community and to get involved when they see something. And I'll take it back a step further.
Even the driver of the truck that was shot at to understand he's seeing something that just doesn't make sense, kept throwing something over a fence to verbally engage, to try to stop him, to try to get his attention and then getting shot at to the dad of those students that went in after seeing that that altercation as well. And then, as you stated, the teacher unarmed, unprepared, but understanding that she had to do something to get involved in order to stop the killing that was going on, as well as the school, the training that they had done, the protocols that they had in place, the fact that the door was even locked to begin with.
All of these have means that that entire community from the school to the parents, to the bystanders take their safety seriously and are willing to get involved no matter what it takes to protect the children of that community and those families.
SANCHEZ: Nick, we should note there are still two other victims that are being treated at area hospitals. One, a seven-year-old, a girl who is in serious but stable condition. The other, another teacher, a 54- year-old who suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. It was really eye-opening to hear this police chief get emotional talking about these young lives that were taken. How is the community dealing with all of this?
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, listen, Boris, we've been seeing people all day just walking around, parents and their kids, arms around each other, stunned, shell-shocked. They talk of the silence. There isn't the noise of kids playing today after what just happened. You know, the one bright spot in that press conference, Boris, I would say, is the fact that that seven-year-old is critical but stable, stable. That was the only piece of good news I could get out of that.
The other things that really struck me, the fact that there were 44 pellets and cartridges still in on the gunman's person and in his backpack. We're talking solid pellets, we're talking buckshot, birdshot. I don't even want to get into what kind of damage that can do to a human being at close range. The other thing that struck me was that one of the victims, one of the boys, was still alive when cops got there. That's a new detail.
[17:45:13]
Now, earlier, in terms of motive, which, as, you know, the police chief said, we may never know, we spoke earlier to the mother of the shooter. She was sitting on the balcony of her home, crying, looking into middle distance, smoking, obviously totally overwhelmed by this. She said, he was a good boy, I miss my boy. She said, sorry to the victim. She said, I wish there was something I could have done. She said, Boris, that there were no red flags, no red flags. There was nothing that could warn her to this.
In terms of the weapon, now, we have one source telling us that that weapon was actually bought by the mother, this kind of starter, beginner shotgun, which in Oregon, you can't buy one of those until you're 18, but when you're 16, you can possess it. So that will obviously be one line of inquiry. How did he get this gun? Boris?
SANCHEZ: No doubt. Nick Watt, John Miller, Josh Schirard, thank you all. We have much more breaking news coverage of this terrible school shooting just ahead as officials reveal new details about the victims and also the heroes that intervened.
We're also getting a check on the campaign trail as President Trump and Republicans make their case with just 18 days until the midterms.
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[17:50:19]
SANCHEZ: In our Politics Lead, only 18 days left until the midterm elections, and we're following the key races, as Republicans, many of them are in scramble mode, trying to hold onto seats that once were safe. President Donald Trump is on the campaign trail right now in Dalton, Georgia, boosting Republican Congressman Mike Collins as he runs for the Senate race against incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. Ossoff notably leading in the polls there. CNN has live team coverage on the campaign trail. We've got Arlette Saenz in Coral Gables, Florida, and Carolina Peguero in Mercedes, Texas.
Arlette, first to you. You are in South Florida, where today the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, made a campaign stop. He's trying to convince voters to elect a Democrat, a former T.V. anchor, Eliott Rodriguez, to a seat that's been held by another former T.V. anchor, a Republican, Maria Elvira Salazar, since 2021. What is Rodriguez's pitch? How are things shaping up in this race?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, Latino voters have shown some signs of shifting away from President Donald Trump this year, really raising the question of whether that will impact Republican candidates running in tough congressional races, like right here in South Florida.
This 27th congressional district out in Florida features a contest between the Congressman Maria Elvira Salazar and the Democrat Elliot Rodriguez in an area that President Donald Trump actually flipped back in the 2024 election. But there has been a lot of frustration within this community regarding immigration enforcement and also the state of the economy. And a bit earlier today, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, campaigned with Rodriguez as they tried to pitch voters, including on the issue of immigration. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine is out of control. It's not what was promised. We were told that immigration enforcement was going to target the worst of the worst. Instead, taxpayer dollars are being used to kill law-abiding immigrant families, break them up.
ELIOTT RODRIGUEZ (D), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I think our Constitution is under attack. And we have an administration that's about chaos, cruelty and corruption. And we need to change that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SAENZ: Now, aware of the political dynamics here, Salazar has actually distanced herself a bit from President Trump in his immigration enforcement policies. She ran an ad a little over a month ago which said that many Hispanic voters felt betrayed by the way this administration has carried out that immigration enforcement. And it all really plays into some of the voter sentiment that we've been hearing from voters on the ground, but also in polling.
There was a recent NBC News Telemundo poll that found that only 27 percent of Latino voters approved of the President's performance in his second term in office. And more Latino voters wanted to see a Democratic-controlled Congress than a Republican won. So going forward over these next two weeks, there are very big questions about whether some of that frustration towards President Trump might spill over to Republican congressional candidates, including in places like right here where we are in Miami-Dade County, where 70 percent of the congressional district that Salazar represents is represent -- is entailed of people who identify as Hispanic or Latino voters. Boris?
SANCHEZ: Yes. Carolina, you're in a similar district in South Texas. That's Texas 15. It's a Latino majority district that Trump won by 18 points in 2024. Democrat Bobby Pulido, he's a Tejano musician. He's been campaigning at quinceanera parties. He appears to be significantly ahead in the polls. I wonder what you're hearing from voters there.
CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, of course, Boris. Good afternoon. And yes, Bobby Pulido, Democrat candidate, is getting ready to rally here in just a moment. We also attended earlier this week a rally against who he's running for in Congress, elected Congresswoman Monica de la Cruz. And she was supported by other Republican candidates in District 15 and Speaker Mike Johnson.
They say they don't want voters to listen to the polls or to the races, but to turn out like they did for President Donald Trump in 2024. I spoke to them about many of the topics that are their concerns, the economy, high prices, affordability and immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO DEL ANGEL, LATINO VOTER: Legals, like I said before, they're committing a lot of crime.
PEGUERO: But are you OK with the ICE detentions here with immigration enforcement?
DEL ANGEL: Yes.
PEGUERO: And why is that?
DEL ANGEL: Like I said, they're committing a lot of crimes. They're taking Americans' jobs.
[17:55:06]
CASSANDRA GARCIA, LATINO VOTER: It's scary for people who are just trying to live their everyday life. I know that there's been multiple raids at targeted areas like the food markets and stuff. And I think that that's really insanely crazy. And I think that our administration should be doing something about that. And they should be trying to help change and protect our people, especially locally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEGUERO: And according to the latest poll of Texas Southern University, now the three major races here in South Texas are being led right now by the Democrats. And they have a lead of more than 48 percent. Bobby Pulido is leading by five points. And, of course, early voting starts Monday. Boris?
SANCHEZ: Our Carolina Peguero in Texas. Arlette Saenz in Florida. Thank you both.
Up next, White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia fired less than one week on the job. What President Trump said today about her performance and how quickly he plans to name a replacement.
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[17:59:58]
SANCHEZ: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Jake Tapper. This hour, Katie Zacharia, fired as White House press secretary after just five days on the job.
