Five students and four teachers were initially believed to have been inside the Oregon elementary school classroom when a 16-year-old gunman opened fire.
Griffin John II, a former student at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, killed five-year-old Rhoam Summer and two other students, along with 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert, on Thursday. The attack also left seven-year-old Saylor Graham, who uses a wheelchair, and educator Becky Drury, 54, injured.
However, a school district spokesperson has now confirmed that another student and two additional teachers were also inside the special-needs classroom during the shooting. Scott Maben provided the update to The Oregonian.
“They were physically unharmed by the assailant,” Maben said in a text message to the newspaper. “I can’t say if they sustained any injuries from running or hiding. [The school district has not] received details on that yet.”
The age of the additional student has not been disclosed.
The new details emerged as Rhoam Summer’s family retained three law firms to examine whether the deadly attack could have been prevented.
“Rhoam Summer is the youngest person ever killed in a school shooting in the United States,” the firms Dwyer Williams & Cherkoss, Simon Greenstone & Panatier, and Worthington & Caron said in a statement.
Five-year-old Rhoam Summer was one of three students killed Thursday when Griffin John II opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon
Seven-year-old Saylor Graham was shot in the face and remains hospitalized. Graham and Summer were among those inside the classroom during the attack
John, 16, killed three students and teacher Megan Lambert. He also wounded Graham and another educator
“The Summers’ legal team will launch an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this horrific event. The team’s primary objectives are to discover the truth, determine accountability, and pursue justice on behalf of Kelik and Lillian Summer, the parents of Rhoam.”
Co-counsel Tim Williams described the shooting as “senseless, barbaric, and depraved.”
“But was it foreseeable and thus preventable? That’s what we will find out,” Williams said.
The attorneys said their review will examine whether the school followed its active-shooter and security procedures, how the gunman obtained the weapon, and other circumstances surrounding the attack.
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Rhoam’s family remembered him as “so strong” and as a child who “could do anything.”
“He was also so kind,” his grieving parents said in a statement released through their attorneys. “His heart knew no limits, and it grew with him every single day. We were so proud of who he was and who he was growing to be.”
His parents said Rhoam loved dancing and was their “brightest light.” He also adored rainbows, unicorns, and dinosaurs, and had planned to dress as a bunny for Halloween.
Police said John appeared determined to reach his former classroom. After coming under fire while attempting to enter through the front, he ran around to the building’s rear entrance.
Rhoam Summer’s family has retained three law firms to investigate whether the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting could have been prevented
Megan Lambert, 25, died in the attack. Educational assistant Becky Drury, 54, was also wounded, along with Saylor Graham
Kaylub Giamanco, a father, followed John into the school and shot him dead after spotting the teen while driving home on his lunch break
John, who was not enrolled in a Bend public school at the time, traveled to Silver Rail Elementary on foot last week. The route is being investigated.
He threw the Maverick 88, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, over the fence before jumping over but found himself blocked from entering.
He then ran to the back entrance and blasted his way in through a ‘safety vestibule’ system designed to keep children at the school safe from shooters.
Law enforcement remains unsure as to how John obtained his ammunition, saying the investigation was ‘very active.’
Kaylub Giamanco, a father who was driving home on his lunch break, spotted John and intervened by running inside the school and killing him. He holds a concealed carry permit.
Giamanco has been hailed a hero by locals.
Our News Outlet has reached out to the Bend La Pine School District for comment.
