Teacher reportedly tackled Oregon gunman
Fox News reporter Sarah Alegre details the latest developments in the tragic shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Oregon, where a teacher and a father intervened to stop the gunman.
A Silver Rail Elementary School teacher who confronted a teenage shooter during the deadly attack earlier this month has spoken publicly for the first time, saying the tragedy is a loss she will carry for the rest of her life.
Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist at the Bend school, issued her statement Friday through Bend-La Pine Schools. Her remarks came more than two weeks after the Oct. 15 shooting, which claimed the lives of three children and teacher Megan Lambert.
“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th. This is not a story. This is a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy, and it is our real lives,” Schutz said in the statement.
Cassidy Schutz, a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., confronted a gunman during the Oct. 15 shooting that killed three students and a teacher. (Bend-La Pine Schools)
“My thoughts are with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and those who were there that day. My heart is with you. It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in me that we had more time. The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever.”
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz previously said Schutz helped confront the attacker by throwing her cellphone at him and grappling with him for control of his shotgun.
Schutz also requested privacy while she works through the aftermath of the shooting.
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Flowers rest beside a sign outside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., on Oct. 16, one day after the deadly shooting. (Haven Daley/AP Photo)
“There are no words for this unimaginable reality we are facing. My focus is on these families, our team, our school, and my own healing,” she said. “As I continue to navigate this, I ask that you please give me the time, space, and privacy I need to heal. I will not be making any additional public statements at this time.”
Police said the attack began when a 16-year-old former student entered the elementary school and opened fire in a classroom for children with special needs.
Lambert, 25, died alongside three students: 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two other children, ages 8 and 11.
Police tape surrounds Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., after the Oct. 15 shooting. (Joe Kline/AP Photo)
A second teacher, Becky Drury, and a 7-year-old girl were also shot but survived.
Drury previously told News Media that she saw the gunman and attempted to shut her classroom door, but he shot her before she could keep him out.
After sustaining serious injuries to both arms, Drury pretended to be dead in an effort to avoid further gunfire. The attacker was ultimately killed by Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father who intervened at the school.