3 minSociety
Oregon teacher who wrestled shotgun from school gunman breaks silence
Cassidy Schutz, a learning specialist at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, has issued her first public statement since the October 15 shooting that killed three students and a teacher.
Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, has described the October 15 school shooting as a loss she will carry with her forever. In her first public statement, released Friday through Bend-La Pine Schools, she said the attack had left her with a grief she could not put into words. The statement came just over two weeks after the attack, which left three children and a teacher dead.
"There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th," Schutz said. "This is not a story. This is a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy, and it is our real lives." She said her thoughts were with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and everyone who was there that day. "It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in me that we had more time," she said. "The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever."
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz has previously credited Schutz with throwing her cellphone at the shooter and wrestling him for control of his shotgun during the attack. According to police, the shooting unfolded when a 16-year-old former student entered the school and opened fire inside a classroom serving students with special needs. Teacher Megan Lambert, 25, and three students were killed: 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two other children, ages 8 and 11.
Another teacher, Becky Drury, and a 7-year-old girl were wounded but survived. Drury previously told Fox News Digital she tried to close her classroom door after spotting the gunman but was shot before she could stop him from entering. She suffered severe injuries to both arms and pretended to be dead to avoid being shot again. Shortly afterward, hero dad Kaylub Giamanco, 36, shot the attacker dead, a development that drew public attention to the bravery of those who acted during the attack.
Schutz said her focus is on the families, her colleagues, her school and her own healing. She asked for time, space and privacy as she recovers, and said she would not make any additional public statements at this time. "There are no words for this unimaginable reality we are facing," she said.
The statement arrives as the Bend community continues to mourn. Residents have gathered at a makeshift memorial in front of Silver Rail Elementary School, where flowers and tributes have been left in the days since the shooting. The school, which serves young students, has become a focal point for grief, and the Bend-La Pine Schools district has coordinated its public communications around the families and staff affected by the violence.
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