A 54-year-old educator who lived through the attack at an elementary school in Oregon says she played dead to keep the gunman from firing at her again. Becky Drury, who teaches at Silver Rail Elementary School, described the moment in a statement shared with US media.
According to the statement, Drury was trying to close her classroom door when the attacker shot her, and she dropped to the floor. The shooting took place on 15 October in Bend.
Drury recounts the classroom attack in Bend
In her first remarks since the shooting, Drury said she had gone out to see what was happening near the special-education classroom. After spotting the shooter, she tried to shut the door, but he shot her before she could do so.
Drury said the wounds left her unable to help the children inside. “I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again,” she said.
Injuries and victims of the Silver Rail shooting
Describing her position on the floor, Drury said her left hand was nearly severed by the gunfire and her other arm was badly hurt. “I could not get up, defend myself, or protect anyone else,” she said.
She suffered serious injuries that were not life-threatening. The shooting killed five-year-old Rhoam Summer, two children aged eight and 11, and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert.
Police details on the gunman and bystander response
The attacker, identified as a 16-year-old former student at the school, killed three students and a teacher before a parent from the school fatally shot him. Police said the parent had followed the suspect into the building, and officials named the attacker as Griffin J John II.
Police said another teacher, who has not been named, tried to disarm the gunman by throwing her mobile phone at him. She was not injured. Officials said the suspect was a special-education needs student at Silver Rail, but police have not yet shared a motive.
Reports had emerged that a different teacher threw herself over a student to protect the child. Drury said she wanted to correct the record about what happened that day.
“I know there has been contradictory reporting about my actions that day, but the truth is I was shot before I had any chance to act,” she said in her statement. She described what happened in the classroom as “unimaginable” and added: “[L]ike so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy.”
