Motive remains unclear days after deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School – USFTB

BEND, Ore. (KATU) — It’s been more than 72 hours since a deadly school shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School rocked the community of Bend.

Three students, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher were killed Thursday afternoon when a former Silver Rail Elementary School student broke into the school and fired at least 15 rounds into a special education classroom, according to Bend police.

Police identified the 5-year-old student as Rhoam Summer and the teacher as Megan Lambert.

Seven-year-old Saylor Graham and 54-year-old teacher Becky Drury were seriously wounded and are recovering in hospitals.

Police said the shooting was stopped after a teacher tackled the suspect for control of the weapon. A father of two students at the school then entered the building and fatally shot the suspect.

Police and school officials said the two men are believed to have saved many lives.

Police identified the suspect as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, who they said was also a former special education student at the school.

The community is still reeling from the tragedy, trying to make sense of what happened and waiting for updates as investigators continue to process the crime scene.

As of Sunday, the verified fundraising pages for the victims have raised more than $1.5 million combined.

The FBI has also created a virtual family assistance center and is also working with the school district to help people who want to collect their belongings from the unaffected areas of the elementary school.

Bend-La Pine Schools will remain closed to students Monday and Tuesday, while Silver Rail Elementary will remain closed until further notice.

Bend police said the school will remain an active crime scene through at least Tuesday.

Police have outlined a timeline of the shooting, including when the suspect climbed a fence, entered the school, when the school went into lockdown, when shots were fired and when a school parent killed the suspect.

The Associated Press reported that the suspect’s mother gave him the long gun used in the shooting, but the motive remains unclear.

Ken Gray, a professor at the University of New Haven and a former FBI special agent who retired in 2012 after 24 years with the bureau, described a pattern seen in some school shootings.

Gray said these attacks are frequently carried out by teenagers who return to schools they once attended, sometimes seeking revenge or for reasons investigators have yet to determine.

“It’s unknown at this point what exactly the motive was for Griffin to go back and attack the school when he did,” Gray said. “But, you know, it’s often a teen showing up, either finding a door open or shooting their way through the door to get to it.”

Gray said the pursuit of notoriety may also influence some attackers.

“In some cases they are trying to set the new record… they’re trying to equal or better previous set records,” Gray said. “Not every case, but in some cases that’s the intent, is to duplicate the efforts of others that have previously conducted school shootings and to beat their record.”

As investigators work to piece together what happened, Gray said detectives will seek to account for every detail, including interviewing witnesses and collecting digital and forensic evidence that could help explain the suspect’s actions.

Gray stressed the importance of thoroughly documenting and preserving physical evidence.

“When you are trying to build a case, there’s no room for you guessing,” he said. “You have to be able to definitely say that this was a piece of evidence, where I found it logged into evidence, and then that all has to be maintained meticulously as it’s going to court.”

Because the suspect is dead, Gray said prosecutors may look to hold other parties responsible, particularly the suspect’s mother, who allegedly provided him with the shotgun.

“She’s likely to be charged with manslaughter,” Gray said. “Looking at previous cases like this, there have been two previous cases where after a school shooting, a parent or parents were charged with manslaughter because they provided the weapon or allowed them to have a weapon.”

The UVALDE Foundation for Kids is calling on Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield to review the shooting and determine if there needs to be a state level investigation, including whether there should be criminal charges against the suspect’s mother.

In Oregon, you have to be 18 to own a shotgun.

Bend police said officers have executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home and are actively interviewing people who may have information. However, Police Chief Mike Krantz said some questions may never be answered.