What we know about the victims in the Bend, Oregon, elementary school shooting
The victims killed in a mass shooting at an Oregon elementary school included a teacher who was working her "dream job" and three students in a special needs classroom, officials said.
Another student and teacher were also injured in Thursday's shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, after a suspected 16-year-old gunman shot his way inside the school, police said.
All of the shooting victims were in a special needs classroom in the school, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said during a news conference on Friday.
Police identified one of the three students killed as 5-year-old Rhoam Summer. An 8-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy also died, police said. Their names are not being released at the request of their families, according to Krantz.
Police identified the teacher killed in the shooting as 25-year-old Megan Lambert. Her family said Lambert was working her "dream job" at Silver Rail, in a statement read by a police official at the news conference.
"Meghan was compassionate and had a huge heart," the statement said. "She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs."
The family described her as "an incredible sister, daughter, niece, and granddaughter."
"Her friends became her family. She was funny and opinionated, and she lit up the room," the statement said.
Lambert grew up in Bend, played and coached volleyball and graduated from Boise State University in May 2023, according to the statement.
The other victims in the shooting included a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher, who were both taken to the hospital with critical injuries, police said. The child was in serious but stable condition on Friday, and the teacher -- identified by her family as Becky Drury -- suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Drury's husband said they are currently focused on her recovery and "supporting our family through an unimaginably difficult time."
"We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support, prayers, and well-wishes following yesterday's tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary," her husband, Will Drury, said in a statement. "The kindness and concern shown to our family and everyone affected mean more than we can express. We live in a truly special community."
"We ask that you continue to hold everyone affected by this tragedy in your thoughts," he added.
The suspected shooter was fatally shot by a community member who saw the teen going into the Silver Rail Elementary School after firing at a truck in front of the building, Krantz said.
In another "heroic" act that may have saved lives, the police chief said another teacher tackled the shooter to the floor and tried to take the gun away from him. That teacher was not injured, police said.
A motive in the shooting remains under investigation, police said. The suspect had attended the elementary school as a special needs student and was not currently enrolled in the school district, officials said.
Editor's Note: Police have corrected their initial spelling of the 25-year-old teacher's name. The correct spelling is Megan Lambert.
