In brief
During the tragic mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, a 54‑year‑old teacher, Becky Drury, admitted that after being shot she lay motionless hoping the gunman would spare her life a second time. Drury was the first to expose the mistaken reports that she had acted heroically; instead she was a victim early in the assault. The gunman, a 16‑year‑old former student, killed three students and another teacher before a parent‑bystander shot him. Drury sustained serious, yet non‑life‑threatening injuries, and the community remains mournful. Her testimony offers a sobering insight into the chaos and self‑preservation instincts in a school shooting.
Some readers may find this article distressing.
A 54‑year‑old teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, claimed on a statement that after being shot she pretended to be dead in order to avoid a second fatality.
"I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again," Drury said. She tried to close the door to her special‑education classroom, was shot on the way, and lay on the floor until the attacker moved on.
The attacker, identified as 16‑year‑old former student Griffin J. John II, had already killed three students and a teacher – including 25‑year‑old Megan Lambert – before a parent entered the school and fatally shot him.
Other teachers were injured but did not suffer life‑threatening wounds; one threw her phone at the gunman, while another reportedly positioned herself over a child to protect him -- according to Drury, that story is inaccurate.
Police have yet to disclose the motive for the shooter, who was a special‑education student Newman at the school. Drury described the scene as "unimaginable" and expressed her heartbreak for everyone affected.
The tragedy has spurred renewed calls for stronger school safety measures across the United States, amid ongoing debates over gun legislation and how to protect vulnerable educational environments.
