Perching on metal bleachers beneath a blue late October sky, watching girls play fast-pitch games at Fort Borst Park over the weekend, my mind drifted repeatedly to the horrific events that unfolded on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend.
My heart ached for the families of those children who left for school dressed in their finest for picture day, never to return home, and for the 25-year-old teacher who perished alongside them. I prayed for the grieving families and for the survival of the 7-year-old girl who was shot in the face and the 54-year-old teacher shot in the left arm and right hand.
I prayed for the heroes who prevented more bloodshed. The driver of a pickup truck who saw the teen toss a gun over a fence stopped to confront him and faced a volley of gunfire in response. The teacher who threw her cellphone at the shooter and wrestled him to the ground to remove his weapon. And 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, the father of two students who grabbed a 40-caliber pistol he legally possessed from his vehicle, followed the teenager into the school, and fired multiple shots, killing him to prevent more slaughter.
And, although I found it a bit more difficult, I prayed for the mother of the 16-year-old boy who slaughtered those innocent victims at Silver Rail Elementary School, the woman who purchased the Maverick 88 pump-action, 12-gauge shotgun he used. She did lose her son.
The depression weighing down my heart all weekend at the nation’s 36th shooting on K-12 school grounds this year shifted to ire every time I saw a photo of the shooter on social media. I wanted to scream at the posters — “Don’t give him any notoriety; that’s what he wanted.” Others seeing those photos may think their ticket to fame is killing innocent people.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz had it right when he identified the shooter and stated, “I will not say his name again.”
I won’t say it at all. It’s not worth the ink.
But the names of the innocent killed in that special needs classroom, which served children with behavioral and social skills challenges, deserve to be remembered:
• Five-year-old Rhoam Summer, the youngest person killed in a school shooting since the 1960s, was described by his grandfather as a bright, playful, lovely kid who enjoyed his scooter and running up and down the hallway of their house.
• Two boys, one 8 and the other 11, whose families prefer to keep their children’s names private.
• And 25-year-old Megan Lambert, who graduated from Boise State University in 2023, coached volleyball and described teaching at Silver Rail as her dream job.
Prayers are still needed for the complete recovery of 7-year-old Saylor Graham, an inspirational special needs student in a wheelchair with a joyful and bubbly personality, and teacher Becky Drury, 54, who had surgery Thursday afternoon and faces more operations on her left arm.
I don’t know the name of the courageous teacher who tackled the teenager and put her life at risk to save others. She deserves a medal.
So does Giamanco.
Many people will blame guns for the violence that took place, for this shooting and those at other schools. But in this case, a gun wielded by a responsible owner prevented the deaths of even more children and educators.
I believe in the Second Amendment and always have, even though I think common sense decrees that nobody needs an Uzi — a compact submachine gun — for deer hunting or to protect their homes. And I don’t think Alex Pretti, a protester, deserved to be shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers simply because he legally carried a concealed weapon.
Responsible gun ownership is the key.
The school had windows in locked double doors, which the shooter — a former special needs student at Silver Rail — fired through to enter. It had security cameras, required photo IDs for visitors, and upgraded classroom locks.
But it still wasn’t enough.
I don’t want to hear excuses. This was a premeditated act of violence. He carried 44 extra rounds of ammunition in his backpack.
Was he mentally ill? Perhaps. But many people battling mental illness never physically harm another person.
Was he depressed? Many people are but most don’t hurt others, only themselves. That’s heartbreaking enough.
The shooter’s mother apologized, describing her son as a good boy, saying she saw no warning signs.
But saying you’re sorry does little to comfort those parents who will never hug their children again because of one self-serving teenager’s desire to kill innocent people.
I don’t know how we can prevent these tragedies. We all love people who spend their days in schools as students, teachers, paraeducators, and administrative staff — children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends.
How do we keep them safe as a society? How do we stop these preventable tragedies?
Fortify schools? Hire security guards? Arm teachers? Increase mental health awareness? Publicize warning signs? Offer a hotline to inform law enforcement of potential threats?
We can start by robbing the perpetrators of any fame or notoriety.
Stop sharing their names. Don’t post their photos. Let them fade away in anonymity.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
