Kelik Summer posted to a Facebook group Thursday night that it was “the worst day of my life. My son Rhoam was killed in a school shooting. We are broken and lost, but are surrounded by friends and family who are keeping us safe.”
Rhoam Summer was killed at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, after a 16-year-old male suspect opened fire. Two other children — ages 8 and 11 — were also killed in the shooting.
A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Medical Center with critical injuries. Their names were not immediately released.
The suspect was identified by Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz as Griffin J. John II, of Bend, Oregon. He was shot and killed by a bystander, police said. The suspect was a former student of Silver Rail, Krantz said. There was no word yet on a motive.
The family of Kaylub Giamanco, who came forward as the man who shot and killed the suspect, told CBS News in a statement on Friday that he is “not seeking recognition” and instead expressed his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel and community for “the outpouring of love and support.” His two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary School.
Memorials with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals popped up around the school, which sits in a neighborhood filled with newly built homes.
Bend, which has about 100,000 residents, is the biggest city in central Oregon. Ringed by mountains, it has grown in population over the past three decades and is a tourism and outdoor recreation hub, about 125 miles southeast of Portland.
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