A teacher who was injured in the Bend, Oregon, school shooting last week said she pretended to be dead in an effort to survive.
In a new statement, Becky Drury, 54, said the perpetrator who killed four in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School on Oct. 15 shot her at close range before she had a chance to act.
After realizing something was happening outside her classroom, Drury said she ran to see what was going on.
“I then saw the shooter and immediately ran back into the classroom. I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there,” she said in the statement obtained by USA TODAY. “Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground.”
Three children and a teacher were killed in the shooting after a teen entered the school and shot his way into a special education classroom before being fatally shot by a bystander who had followed him into the school, authorities said. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.
Teacher injured in Oregon shooting says playing dead was ‘the only thing I could do’
Becky Drury, 54, a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School, received serious but non-life threatening injuries in the Oct. 15 school shooting in Bend.
Drury experienced serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was transferred to an area hospital, police previously said.
While lying on the floor after being shot, Drury said she saw her left hand “almost completely severed from the gunshot,” adding that her other arm was also “severely injured.”
“I could not get up, defend myself, or protect anyone else,” she said. “So, I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again.”
She continued: “The truth is I was shot before I had any chance to act.”
Drury said she decided to speak out to clarify reports about her actions in the incident. Police previously said one of the teachers at the school threw her cell phone at the suspect and tackled him but was not injured.
“What happened in that classroom was unimaginable, and like so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy,” Drury said.
Injured teacher has undergone multiple surgeries since being shot
On a verified GoFundMe page, Drury’s husband said she has undergone multiple surgeries in the hospital so far and will require additional operations on her arm and hand before making a full recovery.
“She will need more surgeries and a lot of physical therapy to physically heal. Her emotional healing will also require time and support, as you can all imagine,” an Oct. 18 update said.
The teacher is set to undergo another surgery on Oct. 22 to help rebuild connections in her hand, an Oct. 20 update said.
“She is able to do small wiggle movements with her fingers right now which is a great sign!” it said.
What we know about the Bend, Oregon, school shooting victims
Rhoam Summer, the 5-year-old killed in the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on Oct. 15, was always moving and climbing, his parents said. “His heart knew no limits and it grew with him every single day,” Kelik and Lillian Summer said in a statement.
Rhoam Summer, 5, and Megan Lambert, 25, were two of those killed in the rampage who have been publicly identified, according to the Bend Police Department.
In a statement, Rhoam’s parents described him as a kindhearted little boy who “cuddled at every opportunity and sang to himself when he was upset.” He loved dancing, sharing and rainbows and unicorns, they said.
Lambert, a teacher at the school, was a Bend native, her family said in a statement shared by police.
“This was her dream job,” the family said. “Megan was compassionate and had a huge heart. She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.”
In addition to Drury, a local youth nonprofit identified another injured in the attack as 7-year-old Saylor Graham-Poarch.
Contributing: Christopher Cann and Anastasia Mason, USA TODAY NETWORK
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teacher injured in Oregon shooting says she pretended to be dead
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