{"id":687981,"date":"2026-10-17T12:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T12:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=687981"},"modified":"2026-10-17T12:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T12:07:51","slug":"oregon-school-shooter-a-former-student-who-targeted-special-ed-class-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=687981","title":{"rendered":"Oregon school shooter a former student who targeted Special Ed class \u2013 here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 16-year-old who killed at least four people at an Oregon elementary school has been identified, providing insight as to his motivation in targeting the special education classroom.<\/p>\n

Thursday, the Silver Rail Elementary School of Bend, Oregon, became the site of a great tragedy which may have been worse had it not been for great heroism. In the latest press conference from the police chief, the teen said to have killed three children and a teacher was identified as Griffin J. John II, himself a former student of the special education program.<\/p>\n

During his Friday press conference<\/a>, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz announced he would be naming the suspect a solitary time as he went through a more detailed timeline of the events amid the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n

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\"\ud83d\udea8\" BREAKING: The 16-year-old Oregon school shooter reportedly BLASTED through a school\u2019s security locks before heading straight to his former special education classroom, where he murdered three children and a teacher.<\/p>\n

Disturbing new details reveal that John J. Griffin II threw a 12-gauge shotgun over the fence at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend before climbing over himself.<\/p>\n

According to law enforcement sources cited by the New York Post, Griffin initially attempted to enter through the front doors but was confronted by two bystanders, including a father carrying a concealed firearm.<\/p>\n

After being stopped, Griffin reportedly ran to the back of the building and shot through the security locks to gain entry.<\/p>\n

He then headed directly toward the special education classroom he once attended, killing three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher. A 7-year-old child in a wheelchair and another teacher, 54, were injured.<\/p>\n

The shooter was ultimately shot and killed by armed father Kaylub Giamanco, who had spotted the teenager while driving home for lunch.<\/p>\n

Authorities\u2019 sources also revealed that the shotgun had been legally purchased by Griffin\u2019s mother around his birthday in August.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) October 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As he explained, before entry was made into the school, the teen was initially encountered by the driver of a pickup truck who, as Krantz described it, \u201cverbally confronted\u201d the individual, who then fired upon the man, striking his vehicle at least three times with a weapon described as a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun.<\/p>\n

The driver was one of dozens of reported calls to 911 that initiated a lockdown at the school. To enter the building, the suspect was said to have shot the lock off.<\/p>\n

As was reported<\/a>, the threat was ultimately eliminated when a citizen intervened, taking it upon himself to shoot the suspect. That man has since been identified as 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, whose own children attend Silver Rail Elementary.<\/p>\n

Krantz explained that Giamanco witnessed the shooting of the pickup truck and pursued the suspect into the school, where he found the teen in an altercation with a teacher, surrounded by the victims that had been shot: children aged 5 to 8 years old and 11 years old, along with 25-year-old Megan Lambert. Another student, aged 7 years old, and a 54-year-old teacher were also hospitalized.<\/p>\n

It was at that point that the good guy with a gun neutralized the suspect, who was said to still have 44 rounds of ammunition on his person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can underestimate or underappreciate that courage,\u201d Krantz said when speaking of Giamanco. \u201cWhen someone is willing to risk their own life for others, we recognize that. The quick thinking to observe, to then park and follow someone into the school is incredible and undoubtedly saved people.<\/p>\n

As for the teacher who fought against the suspect, the police chief said,\u00a0\u201cThe teacher who\u2019s willing to stand and fight for her children \u2014 incredible. We all recognize that is true heroism. We don\u2019t see that a lot in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Struggles with schooling were previously reported when it concerned the suspect, as a September 2020 report from KTVZ cited the suspect\u2019s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, commenting on her son\u2019s difficulties learning from home during COVID.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be great for Griffin, because I am not certified teaching a special needs student,\u201d she said when the opportunity to return to the classroom became available.\u00a0\u201cAnd I think it will be great for my son to get the help that he needs from the skilled teachers that he needs to get it from.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 16-year-old who killed at least four people at an Oregon elementary school has been identified, providing insight as to his motivation in targeting the special education classroom. Thursday, the Silver Rail Elementary School of Bend, Oregon, became the site of a great tragedy which may have been worse had it not been for great… Continue reading Oregon school shooter a former student who targeted Special Ed class \u2013 here\u2019s why<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-687981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=687981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687981\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=687981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=687981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=687981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}