Officials share latest details on Oregon school shooting investigation | full video

Channel: CBS News

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] First, we will hear from Ben Police

[0:02] Chief Mike CR who will provide a recap

[0:04] of yesterday's information and then

[0:06] we'll share new information that we can

[0:08] offer today.

[0:11] You will then hear from Ben Leine

[0:12] Schools Superintendent Steve Cook and

[0:15] then from Holly Harris, the Dashuites

[0:17] County Health Services Director.

[0:19] At the end of their remarks, we will

[0:21] provide a statement from one of the

[0:23] victim's families and then we will have

[0:25] the opportunity for questions. Please

[0:28] hold your questions until that time.

[0:31] We also want to share that the FBI has

[0:33] created a tip line. You can call 1800

[0:36] call FBI or you can go to

[0:38] www.fbi.govsrail

[0:43] school.

[0:45] I will now turn it over to Chief Mike

[0:47] Cray.

[0:55] Thank you. I'm Mike Rants, the chief of

[0:56] police in the city of Bend. Thank you

[0:58] for being here this afternoon. First, I

[1:01] want to start today by acknowledging and

[1:03] grieving with the students, families,

[1:07] school staff, and neighbors who have

[1:10] been affected by the incident at

[1:11] Silverell Elementary School yesterday.

[1:13] My heart goes out to each and every one

[1:15] of you, and I know our community

[1:17] supports you. Yesterday was a terrible

[1:20] day for our community and I appreciate

[1:22] the thousands of people who showed up at

[1:24] last night's vigil at Drake Park because

[1:26] you care about each other and that

[1:28] mattered. Some of you brought food,

[1:32] some of you brought questions and some

[1:34] of you just came to be close to other

[1:36] people sharing your same grief. Deputy

[1:39] Chief Ksky and I attended this event and

[1:41] I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of

[1:43] support and love being shown neighbor to

[1:45] neighbor. That is what our community

[1:47] looks like.

[1:49] To our first responders who showed up in

[1:51] the hardest hours, we saw all that you

[1:55] did and we are grateful. You ran towards

[1:59] the worst thing any first responder can

[2:01] ever confront in our work with courage

[2:03] and compassion. Thank you.

[2:06] To the people who showed courage in the

[2:07] face of such violence and intervened to

[2:10] prevent this tragedy from being any

[2:12] worse, we owe you a debt of gratitude.

[2:16] And to the school district personnel who

[2:18] follow protocol with lockdown,

[2:20] evacuation, and reunification to keep

[2:23] your students and staff as safe as

[2:25] possible. Thank you for your help.

[2:28] I know many of you are asking hard

[2:30] questions and some of you are angry,

[2:33] scared, and simply exhausted. Those are

[2:36] all valid feelings.

[2:38] The Ben Police Department with all of

[2:40] our partners are diligently working to

[2:42] answer all the questions.

[2:45] and conduct a very thorough

[2:46] investigation.

[2:48] Today, I'm going to share specifics to

[2:50] this investigation that are hard.

[2:53] They're hard to hear and they're hard to

[2:55] accept.

[2:58] Our goal is to share vetted information

[3:00] that we can stand behind and be sure of

[3:02] and not to speculate. This is still an

[3:06] active and open investigation and my

[3:07] goal is to be be as open with

[3:09] information that I can while not

[3:11] jeopardizing any piece of this case.

[3:15] to write a a recap of yesterday's

[3:17] information that I released last night.

[3:19] At 12:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 15th,

[3:22] Dashes County dispatch received a 911

[3:24] call from a person in a vehicle who

[3:27] reported being shot at multiple times by

[3:29] a person with a long gun. Dispatch

[3:32] received dozens of 911 calls reporting

[3:34] that a shooter had entered the building

[3:36] at Silverell Elementary School on

[3:38] Southeast Stone Creek Lane in Bend.

[3:41] Dispatch used a tone to alert all law

[3:43] enforcement at 1:00 p.m. 1 minute later.

[3:46] Officers responding to the scene

[3:48] directed the school to go into lockdown

[3:49] at 10:01 p.m. Our first officers arrived

[3:52] on scene at 102. And moments later, an

[3:55] officer reported the suspect had been

[3:57] shot by a community member who had seen

[3:59] the sub uh suspect enter the school and

[4:02] pursued him into the school and engaged

[4:04] him, shooting him several times.

[4:07] Five people succumbed to their injuries

[4:09] at the scene, including the suspect. The

[4:12] deceased at the school scene included

[4:14] three children ages 5, 8, and 11, and

[4:18] one 25-year-old teacher.

[4:20] One 7-year-old child and one 54 year old

[4:23] teacher were transported by Bend fire to

[4:25] St. Charles Bend with critical injuries.

[4:29] All students and staff at the scene were

[4:32] transported by Ben Leine schools buses

[4:35] to Journey Church for re reunification

[4:37] with families and guardians.

[4:40] The new information I want to share

[4:41] today

[4:43] a little bit of a recap as well. At

[4:45] approximately 12:58 p.m. on Thursday,

[4:47] October 15th, two vehicles were

[4:50] traveling westbound

[4:53] on Brentwood Avenue near Silver Rail

[4:55] Elementary School near the square box

[4:57] number one.

[5:00] At that time, the suspect approached the

[5:01] fence area of the school from an

[5:03] undeveloped area near Nenina Avenue.

[5:07] The suspect crossed the street, threw

[5:09] his weapon over the fence, and climbed

[5:11] the fence onto the school property.

[5:14] The driver of a red toaded pickup truck

[5:16] witnessed this and verbally confronted

[5:18] the suspect. The suspect fired at the

[5:21] pickup, striking it at least three

[5:22] times.

[5:24] After the red pickup was fired upon, the

[5:26] driver continued down the street and

[5:27] made the initial 911 call.

[5:32] The driver of a second vehicle, a

[5:33] 36-year-old man whose children do attend

[5:36] the school, also witnessed this initial

[5:38] shooting incident. He drove into the

[5:40] elementary school parking lot where

[5:42] square number two is.

[5:46] The suspect walked westbound along the

[5:48] south side of the school and forced

[5:50] entry through an external set of double

[5:52] doors near number three. He fired

[5:55] multiple rounds into the glass panes in

[5:57] the doors to gain access to the school.

[6:01] The suspect went directly into the

[6:02] classroom immediately to the left of the

[6:04] entry doors where he fired as many as 15

[6:07] rounds overall. Although the exact

[6:10] number fired in the classroom is still

[6:12] under investigation. All of the victims

[6:15] were shot in that classroom.

[6:18] Three types of ammunition were used by

[6:20] the suspect over the course of this

[6:22] incident. All 12 gauge birdshot,

[6:25] buckshot, and slugs.

[6:28] The 36-year-old man who parked at the

[6:30] school took out a 40 caliber pistol that

[6:33] was legally secured in his vehicle and

[6:35] carried it towards the school.

[6:37] As he made entry through the forced open

[6:39] doors, he heard shooting and saw a

[6:41] teacher involved in a physical

[6:43] altercation with the suspect. He then

[6:46] went to the classroom where the struggle

[6:47] was underway and fired his weapon,

[6:50] striking the suspect multiple times.

[6:54] In the classroom, an injured

[6:56] seven-year-old girl

[6:58] who was receiving life-saving care at

[6:59] the scene is currently receiving

[7:01] treatment at OHSU. She is in serious but

[7:03] stable condition.

[7:05] The injured 54year-old female teacher

[7:07] suffered serious but non-lifethreatening

[7:09] injuries and is currently receiving

[7:11] treatment at St. Charles Bend.

[7:14] Officers and medics on scene attempted

[7:15] life-saving care on one boy at the

[7:18] scene. Two other children, both boys,

[7:21] and a teacher, were deceased when

[7:23] officers arrived.

[7:25] The 5-year-old boy is identified at the

[7:29] request of his family as Rome Summer.

[7:33] At the request of the other involved

[7:34] families, we will not be releasing the

[7:36] identity of the child victims.

[7:39] The teacher who was killed and has been

[7:41] identified is 25-year-old Megan Lambert

[7:44] of Bend. And we will share her family's

[7:46] statement at the close of this press

[7:48] conference.

[7:50] Arriving officers on scene located a

[7:52] Maverick 88 pumpaction 12- gauge shotgun

[7:54] near the suspect as well as a backpack.

[7:58] In total, the suspect had approximately

[8:00] 44 remaining rounds of 12- gauge

[8:01] ammunition on his person or in his

[8:03] backpack.

[8:06] In addition to the 36-y old man who

[8:09] bravely stepped in to stop the suspect,

[8:11] I want to highlight another person whose

[8:13] heroic action we need to recognize. A

[8:15] teacher in the classroom threw her cell

[8:17] phone at the suspect and then tackled

[8:19] him and fought to take the firearm from

[8:21] him. She was not injured in that

[8:23] incident, but she almost certainly

[8:24] helped prevent more bloodshed.

[8:28] Part of this investigation, we activated

[8:30] a major incident team. Roughly 150 law

[8:32] enforcement and first responder

[8:34] personnel have been involved in this in

[8:36] investigation, and we are thankful for

[8:38] their assistance.

[8:40] There are too many to name, but I'd like

[8:42] to give a special thank you to Dashes

[8:44] County Sheriff's Office, Redmond Police

[8:46] Department, Oregon State Police, the

[8:48] FBI, the ATF, and multiple other

[8:51] partners from far and wide from around

[8:53] the state and our federal partners who

[8:54] have come to support us through this

[8:56] very difficult situation.

[8:58] Our crime scene analysts completed a

[9:00] digital scan of the entire scene last

[9:02] night. We have collected evidence and

[9:04] executed a search warrant at the home of

[9:06] the suspect, and interviews are ongoing.

[9:09] Officers on scene this morning completed

[9:12] a second walkth through of the scene to

[9:15] determine if there's additional

[9:16] evidence. Our team has not does not

[9:18] intend to relinquish the school crime

[9:20] scene until Tuesday of next week at the

[9:23] earliest to ensure our search for

[9:25] evidence is complete. The FBI's victim

[9:28] assistance advocates will work with the

[9:29] school district to assist people who

[9:31] want to collect their belongings from

[9:33] the unaffected areas of the building.

[9:38] We will identify the suspect in this can

[9:40] one time in this case one time. I will

[9:43] not say his name again.

[9:45] The suspect has been identified as

[9:46] 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. He

[9:50] previously attended Silver Rail

[9:52] Elementary and we believe he traveled to

[9:54] the school on foot, although that route

[9:57] remains under current investigation. He

[9:59] is not currently enrolled at Ben Leine

[10:01] schools.

[10:04] How the suspect got the weapon and

[10:05] ammunition remains part of the active

[10:07] criminal investigation and I will not be

[10:09] able to address any of that part uh

[10:10] portion today. Um this remains a very

[10:13] active investigation and while we know

[10:16] that you have many questions, not all of

[10:18] them will be answered today and some of

[10:20] them may never be answered.

[10:23] Please hold the victims of this tragedy,

[10:26] their family

[10:29] and your community in your hearts with

[10:31] me. support them, support each other,

[10:34] and use the resources that will be

[10:36] mentioned today if you need them. Thank

[10:38] you.

[10:43] Thank you, Chief France. Next, we will

[10:45] hear from Superintendent Steve Cook.

[10:56] Today I'm coming to you after meeting

[10:59] with the Silver Rail Elementary staff.

[11:04] They are in so much pain as we all are.

[11:09] They were gathered to support each

[11:10] other, to share, and to comfort each

[11:13] other.

[11:15] I assure you, this tragedy has had a

[11:16] substantial impact to them and all of

[11:19] our school employees.

[11:22] They are grieving the loss of a

[11:24] colleague

[11:25] and three of our students.

[11:28] Like our families, our staff need time

[11:30] and privacy and so much support right

[11:32] now.

[11:34] I soon hope to be speaking with the

[11:36] families of the victims as well.

[11:40] As chief mentioned, vict victim's

[11:42] assistance is engaging with the families

[11:44] currently.

[11:46] I want our families to hear directly

[11:48] from me that we stand with them and we

[11:52] support them.

[11:55] To all of our Silver Rail families, we

[11:57] are deeply committed to supporting you

[11:59] through every stage of this crisis.

[12:02] This has been a terrifying and traumatic

[12:04] experience that will affect us all

[12:06] profoundly for years to come.

[12:12] I want to thank them all for their

[12:13] courage, for their support, and for

[12:16] their care for one another. During this

[12:18] time,

[12:23] Silver Rail families are showing our

[12:24] community

[12:27] how to wrap our arms

[12:30] around our children

[12:36] to comfort and love and remind them that

[12:38] the adults in their schools

[12:41] and in their lives deeply care about

[12:43] them.

[12:46] I also need to acknowledge our staff

[12:48] member

[12:51] who fought for the safety of the

[12:52] children who engaged the suspect.

[12:56] I also need to acknowledge

[12:59] the community member who risked life by

[13:01] entering the the school

[13:05] and did not hesitate to step in.

[13:09] Thank you both for intervening on behalf

[13:11] of our students.

[13:13] I believe your actions saved lives.

[13:18] Today, in the days ahead, we are focused

[13:21] primarily on crisis response and support

[13:25] to everyone in our community and to

[13:28] anyone who's seeking help. The initial

[13:32] reports of the crisis uh counseling that

[13:34] are going on at Central Library has been

[13:37] that hundreds have shown up to receive

[13:39] that support.

[13:41] We will continue to provide access for

[13:44] this community.

[13:48] We are in the process and will begin as

[13:50] soon as law enforcement allows us to

[13:53] once the investigation is complete

[13:56] to investigate our own emergency

[13:58] response procedures,

[14:00] all of our safety planning and

[14:02] everything that is relevant to this

[14:04] invent event and investigation.

[14:07] Benpine Schools has invested heavily in

[14:10] school safety, secure entries, door

[14:13] locks, security cameras, security

[14:15] fencing, and we have a wonderful

[14:17] partnership with Dashes County Sheriff's

[14:19] Office and Ben uh Bend Police

[14:22] Department.

[14:23] We practice lockdowns with students and

[14:25] staff twice a year at every school. We

[14:27] train with law enforcement and emergency

[14:30] responders every year.

[14:32] Rest assured,

[14:34] we will take a hard look at everything

[14:38] and that we have done and what more

[14:40] needs to be done to ensure that our

[14:43] students, our staff, and our families

[14:46] are safe in our schools.

[14:48] Thank you.

[14:53] >> Thank you, Superintendent.

[14:55] Finally, I'd like to invite up Holly

[14:57] Harris. She is the Dashuites County

[14:58] Health Services Director.

[15:06] We're gonna keep an eye on this briefing

[15:08] in Bend, Oregon. You've been listening

[15:09] to the authorities, police chief of

[15:11] Bend, Oregon, superintendent of schools.

[15:13] I want to bring in Anna Shear, because

[15:14] there are so many things to discuss

[15:17] here. Anna, we heard that this event,

[15:20] this tragic and described as terrifying,

[15:23] traumatic event started actually outside

[15:26] the school

[15:28] when someone in a Toyota pickup truck

[15:30] saw this 16-year-old gunman with a

[15:33] shotgun, engaged him verbally, then that

[15:36] 16-year-old shot at that pickup truck

[15:38] driver. Someone who saw that interaction

[15:42] then sees the gunman go inside the

[15:44] school, follows him in there and becomes

[15:46] the shooter who stops more carnage.

[15:49] Anna, you can pick things up from there

[15:51] because we got a lot of details that can

[15:53] only be classified as new in this

[15:55] briefing.

[15:55] >> It's extraordinary. Only now in this

[15:58] moment do we understand the lengths that

[16:00] the shooter went to uh to get inside the

[16:03] school. He was not deterred by the man

[16:06] in the pickup chuck. In fact, he shot at

[16:09] that truck and then shot went around the

[16:13] west side of the school to enter through

[16:15] a side door after he shot at the locks

[16:18] to get the door open. And he went turned

[16:20] left and went immediately into the first

[16:23] classroom to the left as he entered into

[16:26] the school and opened fire there. Now,

[16:29] we've also just learned about a heroic

[16:32] teacher who threw her cell phone at the

[16:35] shooter and then tackled him.

[16:37] Unfortunately, he had already had time

[16:39] to fire off rounds, around 15 rounds,

[16:43] and there was more ammunition that was

[16:45] found there inside that classroom. It

[16:48] could have been so much worse, Major,

[16:50] had the teacher not intervened. And then

[16:53] also, as you noted, the other person in

[16:56] another vehicle who witnessed the

[16:58] altercation outside, he has two children

[17:00] at the school. We can report he went in

[17:03] after the shooter, opened fire, and

[17:05] killed the shooter. So just an

[17:08] extraordinary story and all of these

[17:10] details we are getting for the first

[17:12] time right now.

[17:13] >> Couple of other details Anna worth

[17:15] sharing with our audience. Just as a

[17:17] quick recap, the 7-year-old victim still

[17:20] alive, serious but stable condition. One

[17:23] of the children at the school,

[17:24] 54year-old, I believe teacher in stable

[17:28] condition. So the prospects it sounds at

[17:30] the moment, we'll say this with caution

[17:32] for both of those appear to be

[17:35] promising. You mentioned that there was

[17:37] extra ammunition available to this

[17:39] 16-year-old shooter. Police Chief Mike

[17:41] CR said 44 rounds remaining in his

[17:44] pumpaction 12- gauge shotgun. And the

[17:48] 16-year-old shooter, as the police chief

[17:50] emphasized, will be named by the

[17:52] authorities in Bend, Oregon, one time

[17:54] and one time only. I jotted it down.

[17:56] Correct me if I'm wrong. Anna Griffin J.

[17:58] John II. No motive. And as the police

[18:02] chief said, "Some questions will be

[18:04] asked, many will be answered, but some

[18:06] may not have an answer. He may be in may

[18:09] have been obliquely referring to the

[18:11] ever elusive and times like this

[18:15] question of defining a motive."

[18:17] >> That's exactly right. And exactly who

[18:20] purchased the gun? We we know from our

[18:22] own reporting that it was the shooter's

[18:24] mother who legally purchased that gun.

[18:27] Was it a purchase for him or did he take

[18:30] it without her knowledge that also the

[18:33] police chief said all of that anything

[18:35] surrounding the weapon is under

[18:37] investigation and so we'll be watching

[18:39] that very closely major

[18:42] >> just a remarkable story Anna on so many

[18:45] levels and to quote Steve Cook the

[18:48] superintendent of schools so much pain

[18:51] in the Bend Oregon community there are

[18:53] those who are seeking assistance

[18:55] counseling and otherwise People have

[18:57] gathered to lock arms. There's a small

[19:00] vigil outside the school. All these

[19:02] things sadly, painfully familiar to

[19:06] Americans who've witnessed over the

[19:08] years many school shootings, many

[19:09] tragedies of this kind. But the

[19:12] dimensions of this strike us as

[19:14] particularly

[19:16] deadly, compelling, and heartbreaking.

[19:19] Anna, any other thoughts you have before

[19:22] >> just a reminder to our viewers how young

[19:24] these victims are? 5 years old, 8 years

[19:27] old, and 11 years old. It does hearken

[19:30] us back to Sandy Hook. Uh other school

[19:33] shootings where the victims were that

[19:35] young. Major

[19:37] >> Anna Shakar, as always, deeply

[19:39] appreciative of your work. So, we're

[19:41] going to move on here at the Takeout.

[19:43] It's a tough turn, but we're going to

[19:45] make it. Katie Zachariah out as White

[19:47] House press secretary after just 5 days

[19:49] on the job. She was criticized and we

[19:52] know now externally as well as

[19:54] internally for her only news conference

[19:57] early this week. Lasted 14 minutes, took

[19:59] all of three questions. Zachariah also

[20:02] represented herself before hitting that

[20:04] podium on many media appearances as a

[20:07] lawyer, but was later forced to

[20:09] acknowledge she never passed a bar exam.

[20:12] Took it once in California, didn't pass.

[20:14] President Trump, foreshadowing what was

[20:16] to come, talked to reporters earlier

[20:18] today. Listen. I just spoke to her about

[20:21] it. I said, "Katie, is this for you?"

[20:23] Because, you know, she's been treated

[20:25] very rough. I said to her, "Honestly, if

[20:28] I were you, I'd reconsider. You think

[20:30] about it, but I wouldn't reconsider."

[20:33] >> Well, the reconsideration has occurred.

[20:35] She's out. CBS News congressional

[20:37] correspondent Nicole Killian in Dalton,

[20:39] Georgia,

[20:40] >> where the president is traveling on

[20:42] behalf of Republicans in pretty

[20:44] competitive, high-profile, statewide

[20:45] races. Nicole, take it away.

[20:49] Republican Congress. I sign

[20:53] >> Yeah, that's right. And you can probably

[20:54] hear the president speaking right over

[20:56] my shoulder. Major, so far he has not

[20:58] brought up this issue involving his

[21:01] press secretary moving out of that role.

[21:04] Instead, he has really tried to make the

[21:06] focus what's happening here on the

[21:08] ground in Georgia. that early voting is

[21:10] underway and that it's critical for all

[21:13] these folks to