John J. Griffin, 16, has been identified as the gunman who killed four people at an Oregon elementary school before a bystander fatally shot him.
Griffin opened fire inside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday just after 1 p.m., according to three senior law enforcement officials who spoke and sources who spoke to The Post. He was armed with his mother’s pump-action shotgun when he began the rampage at the school, which enrolls about 450 students.
The attack left three young students dead, with the youngest victim being just 5 years old. A teacher was also killed in the shooting. Griffin critically wounded another student and another teacher before the violence was halted.
A heroic bystander, believed to be a student’s father, shot Griffin dead before police could reach the scene. Officers arrived at the school shortly after the gunfire began, but the teen was already deceased by the time they got there.
The Bend shooting marks Oregon’s eighth fatal mass shooting since 1998, a grim statistic that underscores the state’s history with such violence.
Authorities have not yet disclosed a motive for why Griffin targeted the elementary school. The investigation into what drove the teen to carry out the attack remains ongoing.
The bystander who intervened has been widely described as courageous for stopping the gunman before more lives could be lost. Police have not released that individual’s identity.
Oregon has seen multiple deadly mass shootings over the past quarter-century, though Thursday’s attack stands out for its targeting of the youngest schoolchildren. The state has grappled with gun violence at Umpqua Community College in 2015, Clackamas Town Center in 2012, and other locations dating back to 1998.
Griffin’s use of his mother’s firearm raises familiar questions about weapon access in households with minors, though officials have not commented on how he obtained the shotgun.
The critically injured student and teacher survived the immediate attack but faced grave conditions. Officials have not provided updates on their current status.
Bend, a city of about 100,000 in central Oregon, now joins the growing list of American communities forever marked by a school shooting. The small city had not previously experienced violence on this scale at an educational institution.