NEW: Teacher Heroically Tackled Oregon Gunman Before Armed Bystander Took Him Down

A teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, threw her cellphone at a gunman and tackled him during a school shooting that left multiple special education students dead this past Thursday. The gunman was then neutralized by an armed parent whose children attended the school. The heroic actions undoubtedly saved many lives, officials have said.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described the sequence at a Friday news conference. The unidentified teacher, who was not injured, “threw her cellphone 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,” Krantz said.

He added that the bystander’s intervention “undoubtedly saved people” and stated, “The teacher who was willing to stand and fight for her children, that’s true heroism.”

The 16-year-old suspect, Griffin J. John II, a former special education student at the school who was not enrolled at the time, approached on foot around lunchtime. He threw a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun over a fence, climbed over, and fired at a pickup truck whose driver had confronted him.

He then shot through glass doors or a window to enter the building and opened fire in the classroom, discharging as many as 15 rounds. Authorities recovered approximately 44 additional rounds of 12-gauge ammunition on him or in a backpack.

The shotgun was registered to his mother, according to law enforcement sources, though how he obtained it remained under investigation.

NEW DETAILS: Two people are being hailed for their bravery in the Bend, Oregon, school shooting, including a teacher who physically confronted the armed suspect.

Police say the teacher threw her cellphone at the suspect, tackled him and fought for his gun, while a 36-year-old… pic.twitter.com/EWzMYuOnwV

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As the teacher struggled with the gunman on the floor, 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls who attend the school, arrived. Driving past on his lunch break, he observed the suspect firing outside and entering the school.

He followed with a legally carried .40-caliber pistol, entered the classroom, and shot the gunman multiple times, killing him. Police arrived within about three minutes of the first call and found the suspect already dead.

“He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel and community for the outpouring of love and support,” Giamanco’s mother, Kenda Freeman, said in a statement to CBS News.

Four people were killed in the classroom, including three boys aged five, eight and 11, as well as 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. The 5-year-old was identified as Rhoam Summer; families of the other children requested that their names not be released.

A seven-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher also sustained serious injuries, with the girl’s condition listed as serious but stable as of this report.

Investigators executed a search warrant at John’s home, seized electronic devices, and continued examining his background and possible motives. The investigation remains ongoing.

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