Silver Rail Elementary teacher Becky Drury said she was shot before she could protect students during the attack in Bend. Police are investigating how the teenage shooter legally obtained the shotgun.
A teacher wounded during an attack at an Oregon elementary school stated Wednesday that she had no opportunity to shield students and pretended to be dead to survive. PBS NewsHour reported that Becky Drury, who taught in a special education classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, released the statement through a family friend to correct earlier public accounts regarding her actions.
Drury, 54, said she ran to check on a disturbance during the 15 October attack, spotted the gunman, and rushed back inside the classroom, according to BBC News. Before she had time to shut the door behind her, the shooter fired at close range. The blast severely injured both of Drury’s arms and nearly severed her left hand, leaving her collapsed on the floor and unable to stand up.
Unable to defend herself or others, Drury said she realized her only option was to stay still. “I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again,” Drury said. Drury, who remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, said she wanted to clear up incorrect reports claiming she had thrown herself over a child. “Accurate, respectful reporting is a truly important service that will help heal the wounds inflicted by that awful day,” she said. She added that the classroom violence was unimaginable and said her heart is broken for everyone affected.
What happened inside the classroom
The shooting began when 16-year-old Griffin J. John II used a pump-action shotgun to blast through locked doors at the school last Thursday. The attack left four killed in the Oregon elementary school classroom, while another student suffered critical injuries. Authorities identified the victims who died as five-year-old Rhoam Summer, an eight-year-old child, an 11-year-old child, and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert.
Officials said another teacher in the room attempted to halt the assault by throwing a mobile phone at John. That teacher then tackled the teenager and wrestled with him for the weapon, an intervention authorities credited with likely saving lives. A father who had two other children at the school followed John into the building and fatally shot him. The teacher who wrestled John was not hurt.
Background on the investigation
Days earlier, police identified the gunman and bystander who stopped the shooting, while detectives started piecing together the timeline and background of the incident. John was a former special education student at Silver Rail Elementary, though police have not released an official motive for why he targeted the school.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told the city council on Wednesday that the pump-action shotgun used in the killings had been purchased legally. Krantz did not name the purchaser, saying detectives are still working to determine how the teenager gained possession of the firearm. The Associated Press previously reported that an unauthorized law enforcement source indicated John’s mother had purchased the shotgun. Officers have executed search warrants at the attacker’s home, on his personal electronic devices, and across his social media accounts.
What happens next for the schools
Bend-La Pine Schools reopened campuses across the district on Wednesday for the first time since the shooting, though Silver Rail Elementary remained closed. Dozens of police officers deployed to each reopened school building to greet arriving children. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said some families aren’t ready to return yet, noting that Silver Rail families are still working through many processes.
