The key facts
- Teacher Becky Drury said she was wounded while trying to close her classroom door and played dead to survive
- Three children (ages 5, 8 and 11) and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert were killed; the shooter, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, was shot dead by a parent of students
- Drury refuted reports that she shielded a child with her body: according to her, she was shot before she could do anything
Surviving teacher's account
Becky Drury, 54, a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, said in her first statement after the October 15 shooting that, upon noticing the shooter near the classroom for children with special needs, she tried to close the door but was wounded and fell to the floor. 'I did the only thing I could — I played dead in the hope that he would not shoot me again,' her statement, distributed to American media, said. According to her, lying on the floor, she saw that her left hand had been almost completely severed by the shot, and her other arm was seriously wounded: 'I could not get up, protect myself, or protect anyone else.'
Course of the attack and victims
The attacker, whom authorities identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student at the school, killed three children — five-year-old Roamer Summers, as well as an eight-year-old and an eleven-year-old — and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. Police reported that another teacher, whose name was not disclosed, tried to disarm the shooter by throwing a mobile phone at him and was unharmed. Then the father of two students at the school, who followed the suspect inside, shot him dead. Drury sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Refutation of contradictory reports
Media reports had appeared suggesting that another teacher had shielded a child with her body during the shooting to protect him. Drury stated that she wants to 'set the record straight' about the events of October 15: 'I know there have been conflicting reports about my actions that day, but the truth is that I was shot before I had a chance to do anything.' Because of her injuries, she was unable to help the children in the classroom.
Motive not named
Police have not yet reported the suspect's motives; according to authorities, he was a student in the special needs class at Silver Rail. Drury called what happened in the classroom 'unimaginable' and said: 'Like so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy.'
