Bend School Shooting: Police Lay Out Pickup Confrontation, Forced Entry and Classroom Struggle; Motive and Gun Source Unanswered

Since the Oct. 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, that killed three children and a teacher, Bend police have given their fullest account yet of how the attack unfolded, and what they still cannot explain.

Police Chief Mike Krantz walked reporters through the sequence at a Friday news conference.

The sequence, minute by minute

At 12:58 p.m., a driver passing the school saw the 16-year-old suspect, Griffin J. John II, throw a gun over a fence and climb onto school property, Krantz said. The driver confronted him verbally. The teen fired at the driver's red Toyota pickup, hitting it at least three times. The driver was not hurt.

The driver went down the street and made the first 911 call at 12:59 p.m. Dozens of calls followed from people reporting that someone had entered the building.

The suspect walked along the south side of the school and forced entry through a set of double doors. "He fired multiple rounds into the glass panes in the doors to gain access to the school," Krantz said.

He went straight into the classroom immediately to the left. All of the victims were shot there, Krantz said. The suspect fired as many as 15 rounds overall, though police say the exact number fired inside the classroom is still being determined. He used three types of ammunition and was carrying about 44 more shotgun rounds when he was stopped.

Officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. and found the suspect already dead.

Two interventions

A teacher threw her cellphone at the suspect and tackled him, trying to wrestle the shotgun away. She was not injured. Krantz said she "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed."

Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter with two daughters at the school, drove into the parking lot after seeing the suspect fire at the truck, according to Krantz's account. He took a .40-caliber pistol that police say he legally kept in his vehicle and went in through the broken doors.

"As he made entry through the forced-open doors, he heard shooting and saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect," Krantz said. Giamanco went to the classroom and fired, striking the suspect multiple times.

Police did not name Giamanco at the briefing. He came forward Friday, and his family said in a statement that he is "not seeking recognition" and wants to thank first responders, school staff and the community.

President Donald Trump called him a "great hero" on Friday. "He took care of business, and thank God we had him," Trump said. "Otherwise, it would have been much worse." Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, speaking Thursday evening, also praised the "community member who heroically intervened" and acknowledged the "heavy emotional burden" he now carries.

The victims and the wounded

Police identified two of the dead on Friday: teacher Meghan Lambert, 25, and 5-year-old Rhoam Summer. The families of the other two boys, ages 8 and 11, asked that their names be withheld for now.

Lambert's family said in a statement read at the news conference: "Meghan was compassionate and had a huge heart. She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs."

Two others were wounded. A 7-year-old girl is in serious but stable condition. A 54-year-old teacher, identified by her family as Becky Drury, has serious injuries that police say are not life-threatening.

School officials said the victims were all in a special needs classroom. Krantz said the suspect was a former special needs student at Silver Rail and was not enrolled in the Bend-La Pine district at the time.

What police still can't say

Krantz said officers believe the suspect walked to the school, but investigators are still tracing his exact movements. A search warrant was executed at his home, and that search was ongoing Friday.

The weapon was a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. Multiple sources told ABC News the gun was believed to have been purchased by the suspect's mother. Krantz declined to address that. "How the suspect got the weapon and ammunition remains part of the active criminal investigation, and I will not be able to address any of that portion today," he said. No charges against anyone else have been announced.

The motive is also open. "It will require substantial investigative time to continue that, but that is the answer we're seeking as well," Krantz said. "We may never get that full answer, but we want it."

The next public marker is the completion of the search of the suspect's home and the department's accounting of how he obtained the shotgun and ammunition, which Krantz has said investigators are still working to establish.