School Shooting in Bend, Elon Musk's Power, MN Senate Race

Ayesha Rascoe (0:02)

The grief at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, is mixed with gratitude for the teacher and the dad who stopped a massacre.

Scott Simon (0:10)

Police in Bend shared details about that school shooting.

Ayesha Rascoe (0:13)

I'm Ayesha Rascoe.

Scott Simon (0:14)

And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from MPR News.

Ayesha Rascoe (0:21)

Candlelight vigils honor the dead from an elementary school shooting and the bravery of the people who stopped it.

Scott Simon (0:28)

A new film about Elon Musk tries to puzzle out how he got so powerful. We talked to one of the producers.

Ayesha Rascoe (0:34)

And a surprisingly competitive Senate race in the normally blue state of Minnesota is making Democrats nervous.

Scott Simon (0:41)

So please stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend.

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Ayesha Rascoe (2:00)

Authorities are continuing to investigate a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon this past Thursday.

Three children and one teacher were killed. Two others, a seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher are being treated for injuries.

Scott Simon (2:17)

NPR criminal justice correspondent Jacqueline Diaz has been following the story and joins us now. Jacqueline, thanks for being with us.

Jacqueline Diaz (2:24)

Yeah, thank you for having me.

Scott Simon (2:25)

And officials have shared new details about how the shooting apparently unfolded. What do we know?

Jacqueline Diaz (2:30)

Yeah, during a press briefing yesterday, police in Bend, Oregon laid out the series of events leading up to the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. It started around 1 p.m. That's when a bystander in a red pickup truck spotted the shooter climbing a fence on the school property with a shotgun. The bystander confronted him and the gunman shot at the truck multiple times. That man called 911

Meanwhile, the gunman made his way to the building. The doors were locked, but he was able to get inside after he fired multiple rounds at the doors. A second bystander, a father of two children at the school, saw the shooting that unfolded moments earlier and pulled into the school parking lot. He grabbed his gun, which police say he carried in his car legally, and he followed the suspect into the school, shot and killed him. He's being held as a hero.

His mother read a statement to reporters identifying him as lifelong Ben resident Caleb Giamanco and said he asked for privacy during this difficult time. Amid this chaos, there was yet another person who tried to stop the gunman. Here's Ben Police Chief Mike Krantz at yesterday's news conference.

Mike Krantz (3:39)

A teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.

Jacqueline Diaz (3:49)

So as you can tell, there were multiple people who intervened here to try to stop this attack from becoming any worse than it was.

Scott Simon (3:56)

Jackon, what have we learned about the shooter?

Jacqueline Diaz (3:59)

Well, he was 16 years old and he was formerly a student in the school's special education program. This is notable because the shooting took place in a special education classroom. Police identified him as Griffin J. John II.

They say he used a Maverick 88, which is 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Authorities say they've searched his home and they're continuing to conduct interviews. After the shooting, police say they found the suspect's backpack at the scene and 44 more rounds of ammunition.

Scott Simon (4:29)

And I understand not all the victims have been named publicly, but tell us please about them.

Jacqueline Diaz (4:35)

Yeah, three children aged five, eight and 11 were killed. The five-year-old was a boy named Rome Summer. Officials did not release the names of the other child victims at the request of their families.