Teacher saved lives when she tackled gunman during Oregon school shooting, police say

Channel: CBS News

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] Hi, thanks for being with us. A

[0:03] community in Oregon is reeling tonight

[0:05] after another school shooting in

[0:07] America, the 149th of the year. Parents

[0:10] and children in Bend, Oregon are in a

[0:12] state of shock after the shooting at

[0:14] Silver Rail Elementary School where

[0:16] three students and one teacher were

[0:18] killed. The school district

[0:20] superintendent described the mood a

[0:21] short time ago.

[0:23] >> Silver Rail families are showing our

[0:25] community

[0:27] how to wrap our arms

[0:31] around our children

[0:36] to comfort and love

[0:38] and remind them that the adults in their

[0:40] schools

[0:42] and in their lives deeply care about

[0:44] them.

[0:46] >> The gunman was killed in the shooting

[0:48] and has been identified as Griffin J.

[0:50] John II. Investigators say he attended

[0:53] the school previously. Sources say he

[0:55] targeted a special education classroom

[0:58] and used his mother's shotgun.

[1:01] Rome Summer was among the three children

[1:03] who were killed. He was just 5 years

[1:05] old. His father says he's broken and

[1:08] lost, but surrounded by family and

[1:10] friends.

[1:11] Megan Lambert was the 25-year-old

[1:13] teacher who was killed in the shooting.

[1:15] She graduated from college just 3 years

[1:17] ago.

[1:19] >> She loved Silver Rail.

[1:21] This was her dream job.

[1:26] Megan was compassionate and had a huge

[1:28] heart.

[1:31] She always fought for the underdog and

[1:33] those with special needs. She was an

[1:35] incredible sister, daughter, niece, and

[1:37] granddaughter.

[1:39] Her friends became her family.

[1:41] She was funny and opinionated, and she

[1:43] lit up the room.

[1:45] >> CBS News coordinating producer Elizabeth

[1:47] Campbell is in Bend with the latest.

[1:50] What more are we learning about the

[1:51] victims and about the heroes who stepped

[1:53] in risking their own lives?

[1:57] >> Yeah, it's been a tough day here in

[1:59] Bend, Oregon as we learn a little bit

[2:01] more about these victims. You heard two

[2:03] of their names just now. Rome Summer,

[2:05] the 5-year-old. We know that he loved

[2:07] sharks and he loved dinosaurs and he

[2:09] loved to draw. They have had organizers

[2:12] for a fundraiser who have said if you

[2:13] can't give money, send in pictures of

[2:16] sharks and dinosaurs in his honor. We're

[2:18] learning little details like that. Megan

[2:19] Lambert who you also mentioned, we know

[2:21] that she loved volleyball and she found

[2:23] a community here in this school. We

[2:26] don't yet know the name of the

[2:27] 11-year-old student, the other one who

[2:29] died yesterday, but we have learned

[2:31] Sailor Graham is the 7-year-old who is

[2:33] currently in hospital in critical

[2:35] condition working to get better along

[2:37] with one other teacher who was wounded

[2:39] in the attack yesterday. As for that

[2:41] hero as many in the community are

[2:42] calling him, the bystander who rushed in

[2:45] to neutralize the shooter, he was just

[2:47] passing by. He has two daughters who go

[2:49] to this school and was in the community

[2:51] when he saw heard the shots ring out. We

[2:54] know that the shooter tried to go in a

[2:55] side door and he decided to rush in

[2:57] after him and had the whole thing over

[2:59] in a matter of minutes. Now that hero,

[3:02] he has asked for privacy at this time.

[3:04] He's not trying to look for any

[3:05] recognition. He is instead saying all of

[3:08] his thanks goes to the first responders

[3:10] and he's thinking about the community

[3:11] including like I said, his two daughters

[3:13] who went to the school.

[3:15] >> Do you know anything more about the

[3:16] teacher who also tried to and I believe

[3:19] was successful in tackling the shooter?

[3:24] >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was coming up in

[3:25] the press conference earlier today. We

[3:27] know that they were they were fighting

[3:28] and they were trying to make an effort.

[3:30] Everyone kept talking about how

[3:31] important these students were to those

[3:33] teachers. We know that the shooter

[3:35] specifically targeted the special ed

[3:37] classroom and that's why you see the

[3:39] different ages of these students and

[3:41] part of why we know that these teachers

[3:42] were fighting so hard for their

[3:44] students.

[3:45] >> Elizabeth Campbell, thank you. Let's go

[3:47] now to CBS News senior crime reporter

[3:49] Anna Schecter. What more do we know

[3:51] about the alleged gunman?

[3:52] >> Well, we've learned just now that he was

[3:55] a student at this school and a special

[3:57] needs student as well and that he's just

[4:01] 16 years old. His mother had purchased

[4:04] this shotgun. We don't know if she

[4:07] purchased it as a gift for him. That is

[4:09] currently under investigation and is a

[4:11] key part of this investigation.

[4:14] She The New York Times found her at on

[4:16] her porch and she called him a good boy.

[4:19] So that's another facet of this. It's

[4:21] just a such a heartbreaking story for

[4:24] these families that lost these three

[4:27] young children, five, eight, 11 and then

[4:30] the seven-year-old girl as well who's in

[4:32] critical condition but stable.

[4:34] >> I mean, the suspect had

[4:36] The police found buckshots, birdshots,

[4:38] slugs on his person. He had a 12-gauge

[4:40] shotgun. He had 44 rounds that were

[4:42] unspent. They've found so far 15 rounds.

[4:46] These aren't small numbers.

[4:47] >> This goes to intent to cause as much

[4:51] harm as possible. We also learned

[4:53] details about exactly what happened. He

[4:55] jumped a fence with this gun, threw the

[4:58] gun first, jumped the fence and somebody

[5:00] in a truck saw him and actually yelled

[5:03] at him. He then shot at the truck and

[5:05] continued on to the school. Luckily that

[5:08] father, that hero bystander we've been

[5:10] talking about, saw that altercation and

[5:12] then followed him in. He then walked

[5:14] around the periphery of the school and

[5:16] shot at the door to gain entrance into

[5:19] that side door and then immediately took

[5:21] a left, walked into that classroom and

[5:23] opened fire.

[5:24] >> So what questions does this raise about

[5:26] school security?

[5:27] >> Well, look, anytime you have a school

[5:30] shooter successfully enter the school

[5:32] given all of the security measures that

[5:35] so many school have ramped up, you know,

[5:38] it's it's not necessarily a win because

[5:41] he was able to gain entrance, but it's

[5:43] Did there need to be more school

[5:45] resource officers, somebody

[5:48] on the periphery outside. It raises

[5:50] questions. I don't think that's for

[5:52] today, but in the coming days, I think

[5:54] these questions should be asked.

[5:57] >> Okay. Anna Schecter, thank you.